


Shoot Out

by Montana7597



Category: K-pop, Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, All sorts of crimes tbh, Blood, Drug Use, Eventual Smut, F/M, Gangs, Kidnapping, Murder, Tags Are Hard, The members' actual families exist, Violence, might add more later - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:08:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23534329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Montana7597/pseuds/Montana7597
Summary: This was originally posted on Wattpad.This is a story I started writing for my best fried and myself, because we wish we could live that Y/N life.This is not a reader insert. Eunmi and Sorin are the OC's - Eunmi is Hyungwon's sister and is dating Kihyun, Sorin is Shownu's sister and is dating Wonho. Wonho is still relevant, because Monsta X will always be 7 in our hearts.I've read a couple gang AU kpop fanfics, but I haven't read any about Monsta X. If anything in this story is similar to other stories, I do apologize. These are my own ideas, and I'm not intentionally stealing anyone else's work.This story is set in Korea, but it probably doesn't reflect how things actually are there. I've never been, and I did minimal research when I started writing this.Content warnings! This fic deals with themes of violence, drugs, alcohol, etc. I'm also planning some smut in later chapters. I will be sure to put warnings on any chapters containing smut, or any that are particularly gory or violent!
Relationships: Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Original Female Character(s), Yoo Kihyun/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

“Son Sorin. Chae Eunmi.”

My best friend and I looked up from our books to see one of the university’s administrative staff approaching us. The poor woman was struggling through the library, carrying a giant teddy bear under one arm, and a vase with a large bouquet of flowers in her other hand. We stood up to help her, and she blew a strand of hair out of her face once she had set the items down.

“You girls should tell both of your boyfriends that sending gifts to the school is a romantic gesture, but this was a little over the top.”

“Sorry. Thank you for delivering the gifts.” Sorin and I said in practiced unison, bowing our heads and giggling at each other once the older woman had walked away.

Sorin sat down in her chair once again, pulling the teddy bear into her lap. It was as big as she was, but she hugged it tight all the same, sighing blissfully, “It’s almost like having Hoseokie here to hold onto!”

I grinned at the sight, plucking a small note out of the bouquet, then read the gold, hand printed lettering aloud, “I know you’re studying hard for exams, but I wanted you to know that I was thinking of you. Let these flowers remind you of how lovely you are to me, even though they can’t compare to your beauty.” I set the note down as I looked over the bouquet, primarily made up of red roses, but there were branches of cherry blossoms placed throughout, and sprigs of tiny white flowers filling in the rest of the space. Even with it being springtime, when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, I knew this had to be expensive.

“How poetic.” Sorin teased, making me roll my eyes with a bright smile as I sat back down across from her.

“At least I can still see my book past my gift.” I retorted.

“At least you can’t see me giving you the bird past mine.” Sorin poked her head up high enough for me to see her stick her tongue out at me. I laughed and shook my head, going back to studying. We had only planned to be here for another hour or so anyways, so it was pretty good timing to have these distractions presented to us.

Once our study session was over, we packed our things and got ready to leave. I carried Sorin’s bag for her, since she was toting the teddy bear around piggy back style.

“I don’t know how you’re going to fit that thing in your car.” I said, thinking of how small her car was. She wouldn’t be able to see out of the windows properly if the bear had to ride with her.

“Ah, it’s alright. Hyunwoo oppa dropped me off today, so he’ll be picking me up.” She looked up when we made it to the parking lot, immediately spotting her older brother’s car. I walked over with her, depositing her book bag into the back seat of his car after she carefully stuffed the teddy bear inside and cutely fastened the seatbelt around it. Hyunwoo gave me a closed mouth smile and a simple nod as a greeting, but I didn’t take it personally. He had always been the silent type. I waved at him before giving Sorin a tight hug.

“What time are your classes over tomorrow?”

She hummed in thought, swaying with me slightly, “Around four, I think.”

“Let’s go do something after, then.” I suggested, and she agreed. We said our goodbyes, and as she rode away, I walked myself to the parking garage. I couldn’t help but smile as I pressed my nose into the flowers I’d received, inhaling their soft scent. As I walked, my phone started ringing, so I fumbled it out of my pocket while trying not to spill any water out of the vase.

I frowned when I saw that my own brother was calling me. Don’t get me wrong, we were pretty close, but he liked to tease me a lot and he could be very judgemental at times. I was tempted to let it go to voicemail, but I answered anyways.

“Yes, Prince Chae?”

He chuckled, “I see you’ve finally come around to addressing me properly.”

“Shut up, you dork. What do you want?” I snapped, but my tone made it clear that I was only playing around.

“Pick up some milk on the way home, brat.”

"You're only asking me to do it so that you don't have to get out of bed, aren't you?"

He scoffed, "I'll have you know it's going to be a busy night for me. I need to conserve my energy."

"Yeah, sure. I'm coming up to my car now, so I'll stop for milk on the way. See you in forty."

We hung up and I unlocked my car, carefully placing the bouquet in the passenger side floorboard before buckling myself in and navigating my way off of the university campus. I drove towards home, stopping at the grocery store closest to the complex to get the milk and a couple of things I needed to make kimchi stew. I knew my brother could be a picky eater at times, but this was one of the few dishes he'd usually take without much fuss.

Hyungwon and I lived in a shared apartment, away from our parents. It was nice, since it was much closer to the university than the family home, but I still had my older brother around to look out for me. He had insisted on sharing an apartment with me, partly because it would be easier for him to get to work, and partly so he would have more opportunities to spend time with his friends.

Speaking of, his friends were a very tight knit group that Sorin and I were also close with, seeing as her brother was in the little circle, and we were both dating guys out of the seven man crew. We had practically grown up knowing them, so it was as if they were all family. Our decision to date within the group had been met with a little resistance from the others, but that all faded as soon as our protective brothers realized they'd be able to keep tabs on us, and knew that our chosen partners would do their best to keep us happy for fear of their own friends' wrath.

When I made it to the apartment, I pounded on the door with my knee, praying Hyungwon would come to open it for me since my hands were full. Thankfully, the door opened, but I was more than a little surprised to see my boyfriend's cheeky grin waiting on the other side instead of my brother.

"I see you got the flowers." He looked incredibly pleased with himself.

"Kihyun! What are you doing here?" I asked, stepping inside so I could put everything down and hug him properly.

"Hyungwon and I are working together tonight. I'm just here to ensure he gets ready in time." Kihyun smiled at me and welcomed me into his arms. I rested my head on his shoulder, perfectly content in this moment. I shared my plans of making kimchi stew, and Kihyun quickly offered to help. I allowed it, since he was actually a talented cook, unlike my brother who had been banned from the kitchen. We talked as we prepared plenty of food, our voices only falling silent as Hyungwon emerged from his bedroom, fully clothed but looking as though he could fall back asleep at any moment.

"Minhyuk just messaged to say he's coming tonight as well. He'll be here in a few minutes." Hyungwon yawned and I squealed. Next to Sorin, Minhyuk was my closest friend. His bright personality was infectious, and we always wound up splitting our sides with laughter when we got together.

"Good. We'll need the extra hands tonight." Kihyun checked on the stew before turning down the heat, just so the meal would stay hot.

I raised an eyebrow, "Is there anything I can help you guys with?"

Hyungwon answered so quickly, he nearly cut me off before I could finish my question, "No! You work hard enough as it is, and you need to keep your focus on your exams! Just keep being a good student and do your share of the housework, that's plenty of help."

I shrugged, “It just sounds like you guys are going to have your hands full with… whatever it is you’re doing tonight.”

I could tell Hyungwon was trying to think of something to say, but before he could respond, there was a knock on the door. I ran out of the kitchen to answer it, brimming with excitement when I saw Minhyuk waiting to be let in. He smiled cheerfully when he saw me, “Eunmi! Have you gotten taller?”

I laughed, “You know I stopped growing years ago, Min.”

He pulled me into a tight hug before stepping past me, greeting Kihyun and my brother, then whispered something to Hyungwon. A concerned expression crossed his face, but it only lasted for a moment. He nodded and patted Minhyuk on the shoulder, turning to face me.

“Looks like we have to leave a little bit sooner than I thought.”

I frowned, “But none of you have eaten dinner.”

The three boys exchanged a look, then Kihyun smiled at me, “We’ll take some with us to eat on the way, alright?”

“Fine.” I sighed. Kihyun prepared two thermoses of the stew he had helped me cook, filling them quickly and packing them inside the bag that Minhyuk had brought in.

Hyungwon put an arm around my shoulder and pinched my cheek, “How about I take you somewhere nice tomorrow night to make up for missing dinner?”

“I already have plans with Sorin.”

“Then the night after?”

I nodded, still sulking, “Okay.”

“There’s my girl.” He kissed my temple and released me once Kihyun and Minhyuk signalled that they were ready. Min gave me another hug and ruffled my hair, heading out the door. Kihyun stopped in front of me and tilted my chin up to look at him, smirking softly.

“I love you.” He purred, placing a sweet kiss on my lips.

“Yah! Kihyun! Don’t defile my sister in front of me!” Hyungwon shouted in horror, causing both of us to laugh.

“Be careful tonight.” I smiled.

“I’m always careful. Take care of yourself for me.”

“Kihyun, let’s go!” Minhyuk yelled from outside. Kihyun tutted and kissed me again quickly, then rushed out the door. Hyungwon shut and locked it after them, and I felt my shoulders sag once I was completely alone. I wandered to the kitchen to dip some of the kimchi stew into a bowl and then paced to my room, turning on the television as I sat down on the bed. I flipped through the channels until I found my guilty pleasure - the true crime channel. It probably wasn’t my smartest decision to watch shows about murderous husbands and unsolved cases while I was alone, but Hyungwon always scolded me for watching them when he was here. He always said that these crimes were too violent, and he didn’t want my mind to be corrupted.

I settled myself against my pillows and absently ate my dinner, my entire focus trained on the screen, and I remained that way until sleep finally took over.


	2. Chapter 2

“Don’t you think it’s strange how nobody knows what the guys do for work?” I asked as Sorin and I walked side by side through a park, contentedly licking the ice cream cones we had gotten after Sorin’s class let out.

She hummed, “Hyunwoo oppa doesn’t say much at all, so I never really gave that any thought.”

I caught a drop of melted ice cream on my tongue as it tried to run down the outside of the cone, stopping it before it reached my hand, “Right. I’ve asked Hyungwon about it, but he just says that I shouldn’t worry too much. He tells me they’re short term contract jobs, and going over the details of each job with me would get exhausting.”

“Do you feel like they’re hiding something from us?”

“Yeah, something,” I glanced over at her to see her staring at me with surprise, “I just don’t know how bad it is.”

She laughed nervously, “It’s probably nothing to worry about. We grew up with them, I doubt that they would do something dangerous, since that could put us at risk.”

I smiled and nod slightly, “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m just overthinking things.”

I let the subject drop, since the concept of our brothers, friends, and boyfriends all keeping secrets from the both of us is clearly scaring her. We continued talking about school, and worrying over our upcoming exams. We also spoke briefly about the big news story of the day; a large drug ring had been busted last night, with many of those involved finding themselves in handcuffs by morning. Reports said that further investigations were in the works, trying to ensure that our city’s streets were just a little safer from dangerous criminals.

As the sky began turning red with the setting sun, we made our way back to the near empty parking lot. My jaw dropped when I saw my car. The windshield is covered in what looked to be white paint, and one of the tires had been slashed.

“Who did this?!” Sorin was equally shocked by the scene before us.

“I don’t know! But how am I going to fix this?” I whined.

“I’ll have my brother come pick us up. We can figure something out later, but we need to get home.” Sorin said as she pulled out her phone, muttering something about young punks with nothing better to do. She had almost finished dialing her brother’s phone number when, suddenly, I couldn’t see anymore. Dark fabric was pulled over my face as rough hands grabbed me from behind. I heard Sorin screaming, but only for a moment before it became muffled, and then silent.

“Let go of us!” I tried to yell, but a hand fell over my mouth from outside the fabric masking my vision. I could tell there was a cloth in that hand, covering my mouth and nose and filling my lungs with a slightly sweet smell. I felt my consciousness slipping and then the world went completely dark.

***

Hyungwon paced the apartment anxiously, trying to call his younger sister’s phone for what had to be the hundredth time. He knew that she had plans to spend time with her best friend this evening, but when eleven o’clock rolled around and he still hadn’t heard from her, his annoyance turned to fear. The tone sounded again, prompting Hyungwon to leave a voicemail.

“Eunmi! I don’t know what you’re playing at but I’m worried sick! Where are you? Call me!” He ended the call and tossed his phone on the couch, pulling at his hair.

His ringtone went off and he swiped his phone up, feeling a little disheartened when he saw it was only Hyunwoo calling.

“Shownu, is Eunmi with you? She had plans with Sorin today, but she hasn’t come home yet.” Hyungwon tried to sound hopeful, but he received the answer he expected.

“I was calling to ask if Sorin was there, actually. She hasn’t returned home either, and I haven’t seen or heard from either of them.” He sounded anxious, and Hyungwon knew that the older man must be having the same thoughts that he was having.

“Alright. Call Wonho, I’m calling Kihyun. I swear, if my sister is ignoring my calls just to fool around…” He heard the line go dead before Hyunwoo, known as Shownu to him, hung up without saying goodbye.

Shaking his head, he dialed Kihyun’s number, already getting angry at the idea that his friend may be keeping his sister away and encouraging her not to update him on her whereabouts. He practically shouted into his phone when Kihyun answered.

“Send Eunmi home right now!”

“Woah, calm down. What are you talking about?”

Hyungwon felt his chest tighten with panic, “She isn’t with you?”

“No, she was going to hang out with Sorin today, remember? Wait, is she not home yet?”

“No. I just spoke with Shownu, she’s not there either.”

“Have you tried Minhyuk?” Kihyun’s usually composed voice was now laced with concern.

“I’ll call him now. Come by the apartment, though. If the girls aren’t with him, then we need to go look for them. And if Eunmi is there, you can help me scold her when she gets back.”

“Sounds like a plan, I’m on my way.”

Hyungwon hung up with Kihyun and prayed that this next call would be fruitful, swallowing anxiously as it rang. Minhyuk answered cheerfully on the third ring.

“Hey Hyungwon! What’s up?”

“Please tell me that Eunmi is with you.” Hyungwon closed his eyes and crossed his fingers.

The older boy hummed, “Nope, it’s just me and Joohoney. We’re watching horror movies. Why is Eunmi out so late?”

“I don’t know,” Hyungwon felt like he might cry as he sat down on the couch and tugged on his hair, “I haven’t heard from her since she met Sorin earlier today, and she hasn’t come home. She isn’t answering her phone, and she isn’t with Shownu or Kihyun. Shownu said that Sorin hasn’t gotten home yet either.”

“Hold on, Jooheon is getting a call from Changkyun,” There was a long pause before Minhyuk spoke again, “It seems that neither he nor Wonho know where the girls are at. And apparently Wonho is in hysterics about it.”

Hyungwon felt his phone vibrate and pulled it away from his ear to see that Shownu had texted their group chat, requesting that everyone meet at the usual spot. After a few words of encouragement from Minhyuk, they hung up, and Hyungwon put on his coat and collected his keys. He opened the front door to find Kihyun running up the steps to his level of the apartment complex.

“I figured we could ride together, since I was already on my way here.” He explained, slightly winded. Hyungwon nodded, locking the apartment door and racing back down the steps with Kihyun. They jumped into his car and Kihyun flew the entire way to their designated meeting place. It was a safe house, one of several that the boys had purchased all throughout the city. Each house was equipped with high quality surveillance cameras, the footage of which could be accessed from the boys’ phones. They were also fully stocked with non perishable foods and spare clothes, housed at least two gassed up vehicles in each parking garage, and contained a stash of emergency funds and weapons.

The seven boys met up at one of the most unassuming houses, and sat around the dining table inside. All eyes were on Shownu, who was the eldest, and the leader.

“To keep us from wasting any time,” Shownu opened a set of texts on his phone and slid it into the middle of the table so that everyone could see the attached photos, “One of our sources sent this to me a few minutes ago.”

“That’s Eunmi’s car.” Hyungwon stared at the picture of the vandalized car, anger rising in him.

“Sorin’s phone was found nearby. The screen made it apparent that she had been dialing my number, likely to get a ride home.” Shownu frowned, his brows furrowed.

“Something had to have happened to them. Do you think it has to do with us helping out with that bust last night?” Minhyuk looked absolutely petrified, and the room went silent. It had always been a risk that the girls may end up caught in the crossfire due to their chosen line of work, but it had always been a very carefully calculated risk. Hyungwon and Shownu had done everything they could to make sure that their personal lives would never be affected by enemies or rival gangs. They must have slipped up just enough in all of the excitement from the night before for someone to figure out who their precious sisters were. That person who was responsible for their disappearance was likely planning to use them to get revenge.

“I’ll tear every house in this city apart until we find them, if I have to.” Wonho muttered darkly, his eyes red and puffy from crying.

Kihyun looked over at him, “I appreciate what you’re saying, and finding the girls is certainly top priority, but we need to remain calm about this. We won’t be of any use if our emotions get all strung out.”

“Kihyun is right. Let’s put the word out to everyone we know we can trust. Maybe that will turn up some information.” Shownu leaned back in his chair, sighing heavily.

“We should check the location where Eunmi’s car was found as well. There may be more clues there.” Joohoney suggested.

“Good idea. I want three of you to go together. For our own safety, I nobody will be wandering off alone until we find out what happened and take care of it.”

“Yes, hyung.” Everyone bowed their head respectfully at their leader’s order.

“Do you guys think that they’re in pain?” I.M asked softly. He was the youngest member of the group, and was very close with Sorin. Kihyun put an arm around him comfortingly.

“If they are, they won’t be for long. We’ll find them.” Shownu said, trying to be as reassuring as possible. Even though he was panicking inside, he had to be strong for the others. Remaining calm and collected was his duty as the leader. The group quickly discussed a few more things, and then everyone kicked into gear to find out what happened to Sorin and Eunmi.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up slowly, and the first thing I noticed was that my entire body ached. I tried to stretch my arms, but quickly realized that my hands had been tightly bound behind my back. Memories of being kidnapped rushed through my mind and my head snapped up, eyes scanning the room that I was in. I could tell that whoever owned the space was a terrible housekeeper. It smelled of stale cigarettes and mold, and it was very poorly lit, but my gaze finally settled on what I was looking for and I heaved a sigh of relief. Sorin was fast asleep in a worn looking chair to my right, her hands and feet tied up just as securely as mine. Aside from a cut on her cheek that was bruising slightly, she seemed unharmed.

I let my eyes travel around the rest of the room. There were no windows, but there were a few cement pillars spaced out in a line down the room. Based on that, I decided this was most likely a basement, and when I heard a thud and some footsteps above me, I considered my theory as accurate. There was a coffee table in front of the tattered leather couch that I was sitting on, and on the table were several bound stacks of money, along with some small bags that contained less than legal substances. I raised my eyebrows in surprise, seeing that it wasn't just pocket change. There was a lot of money. I glanced over to the far wall and saw two black duffel bags which were unzipped just enough for me to see that there was even more money inside.

I highly doubted that the cash had come to be here by ethical methods.

I heard Sorin beginning to stir, and as her eyes widened when she registered what was happening, I shushed her. She stared at me, mouth hanging open and fear in her eyes.

"Someone is upstairs," I whispered, "We need to stay quiet."

"How are we going to get out of here?" She whispered back.

I shook my head, asking myself the same question. We both looked to the farthest corner of the room, where a set of stairs lead to a wooden door. I could hear people speaking on the other side of the door, but I couldn't tell what they're saying.

"I'm going to try to listen in." I said under my breath and carefully pushed myself off the couch. I was thankful for the two years I spent in gymnastics as I managed to work my tied hands over my legs, bringing them back to my front side. Sorin watched me anxiously as I clumsily crawled on hands and knees to the stairs, then awkwardly climbed them. I stopped when I could hear the voices clearly, which was about halfway up.

I tilted one ear towards the door and closed my eyes to focus.

"When are we going to start making demands of Monsta X?" A man asked.

Another man, with a deeper and more aged voice answered, "We'll reach out in a few days. I want to stay below the radar for now. They're angry now, but in a few days they're going to be worried. Fear makes people more pliable to negotiations."

"What do we do with those girls in the meantime, then?"

"Do I look like I care? Do what you wish, just make sure they don't die. Take this down to them, they need to eat."

"Yes, sir."

There was a shuffling noise as something was handed off, and then the knob on the door turned. I gasped and tried to scramble back down the steps, but I was seen before I could make it.

"Well, well! It looks like we have one very nosy kitty, huh?"

I paused, still a quarter of the way up the stairs, and looked up at the man, who was wearing a black ski mask to hide his face. He was holding a tray in one hand, presumably carrying food. He closed the door and descended the steps, coming towards me.

"Get down, kitty." He snapped, and his boot flew towards my chest. The kick knocked the air out of me and I sailed backwards, crashing onto the cement floor of the basement. I struggled to fill my lungs again, and watched him set the tray down on the coffee table before he made his way back over to me. Sorin cowered deep into her chair as he passed her, pinching her eyes shut and whimpering in fear. The man reached out and took a fistful of my hair, making me cry out as he roughly dragged me back to the couch.

He threw me against it, growling, "Consider this your one and only warning. Behave."

With that, he turned and stormed back up the steps, slamming and locking the door behind him. Sorin was in tears when I looked over at her, and I felt terrible that there wasn't anything I could say or do to make the situation any better for either of us. I pulled myself back onto the couch and completely ignored the food on the table. It was probably drugged anyways.

"What did you hear?" Sorin finally asked once her breathing settled down.

"I'm not sure. I think they're going to try to use us for ransom."

"Ransom? From who? Neither of us have wealthy families."

I shook my head, just as confused as she was, "They mentioned that they would be making demands of someone called Monsta X."

"Who could that be?" She wondered aloud, leaning her head against the back of her chair.

Days dragged by with no sign of rescue and no real opportunity for escape. Sorin and I both had a few more bruises than we had come here with, and I was pretty sure we had both lost several pounds from refusing to eat. Our bodies were stiff from being restrained, and our wrists were raw from struggling against our bindings. We never saw our captors faces, but at this point I had counted at least five different men who seemed to have a routine rotation of who was responsible for checking on us.

We were full of fight for the first couple of days, but now the depression had set in and we had resigned ourselves to cuddling in the chair together. By now our hair was greasy and we didn't smell too great, but staying close together felt much safer than being apart.

I felt Sorin jump when the door at the top of the stairs was flung open, and heavy boots thundered down the steps. I glared at the man who approached us, a cell phone in his hands. He cooed when he saw us, "Well aren't you two just a sight for sore eyes? Smile for the camera!"

I winced when the flash went off, and the man laughed merrily at the image he had captured before leaving us alone once again.

"Do you think they're trying to get the ransom money now?" Sorin asked, her voice hoarse from breathing the poor air in the basement for so long.

I nod, "Hopefully this Monsta X person comes through. I can't take this much longer."

I rested my chin on Sorin's shoulder and we both closed our eyes, trying to sleep through the mind numbingly boring hours that followed.

***

All seven of the boys' phones chimed at the same time, and when they opened up the attachment, they couldn't help but stare in shock. Eunmi was huddled against Sorin in a well-used plush chair, glaring into the camera while Sorin averted her eyes. They both looked exhausted, and it was clear that they had been hit more than a few times. Their clothes and hair looked filthy, too, as though they hadn't had access to a shower or clean laundry since they went missing.

"They're alive." Hyungwon breathed.

"But they look like hell." Wonho growled, his voice trembling a bit.

"Let's find out who sent this. Now." Shownu demanded.

Kihyun laughed darkly, "They think they're going to make us worry over our girls for days, and then demand favors from us?"

"I think not." Minhyuk shook his head, smirking as he plugged his phone up to his computer, getting ready to trace the number by any means necessary. They were going to catch whoever had a hand in this, and they were going to make them pay.

***

Sorin and I were jolted awake by a loud crash and shouting.

"What the hell?" Sorin muttered, then buried her face in my neck as we heard gunshots and screams of agony.

Moments later, one of our masked captors ran into the basement, locking the door tight from the inside. He definitely looked afraid. And unarmed. He flew down the steps and ran across the room, quickly unlocking a mysterious second door there that neither of us had seen anyone use during our time there. When he opened it and flicked on the light, we could see that it was a closet filled with weapons.

Our heads whipped back up as the basement door was kicked in and a familiar face casually strolled down the steps, loading a revolving handgun.

"Kihyun?!"

His eyes fell on me and I saw his gaze soften, then harden again as he looked to the masked man. He pointed his gun at the man, who froze and held up his hands, dropping the pistol he was frantically trying to load only moments ago.

"Girls." Hyunwoo's voice called from the top of the stairs, making both of us look up at him. Hoseok was descending the stairs, and Sorin's eyes followed him as he came down and approached us, pulling a knife out of his belt to cut us free.

"Hoseok, what's going on?" Sorin asked nervously. He gave her a tiny smile, pulling the ropes off of her and doing the same for me before nudging us gently towards the stairs.

"Go." He said, and he didn't have to tell us twice. We bolted up the steps and Hyunwoo stopped us at the top of the stairs, silently handing us masks to cover our eyes.

"Put them on, please," I turned my head and saw Hyungwon looking me over like an anxious mother hen, "We're getting you out, but you don't need to see what happened here."

Sorin and I exchanged glances, and she looked to her brother, who only nodded to confirm what my brother said. We donned the masks, effectively blocking our sight.

"You're going with Jooheon, Changkyun, and Minhyuk. The rest of us have some loose ends to tie up here." Hyungwon said before gentle hands grabbed our arms and guided us away.

"You have no idea how happy we are to see you're both safe." Changkyun said, proving my brother's words to be true.

"Step carefully." Minhyuk's voice warned, right by my ear, just before my foot collided with something heavy yet soft. I yelped, backpedaling quickly, but he steadied me.

"What was that?" I whimpered.

He was quiet for a long moment, "Don't think about it, Eunmi. Just keep walking."

We were carefully guided out of the house, and once outside I heard a car door opening. Jooheon warned us to watch our heads, and once inside the car, we were able to take off our masks. Changkyun was sitting in the backseat with Sorin and myself. Jooheon fastened his seatbelt in the passenger seat while Minhyuk got settled into the driver's side.

"Are any of you going to tell us what's happening?" Sorin asked sharply, causing the three boys to look amongst each other quickly, then back at us.

"It may be best for you both to clean up and eat something before we do that." Minhyuk said, turning the key in the ignition and driving off. He wasn't driving in the direction of our houses, though, and was taking a long, winding route out into the country instead.

"Where are we going, Min?" I questioned, watching as the city turned to trees outside the window.

"Somewhere safe, don't worry. You'll be protected until all of this blows over."

I looked at Sorin, who was chewing her lip nervously. I had been right with the concerns that I had voiced before we were kidnapped, and we both knew it. These boys that we had known all our lives were keeping things from us. Big, dangerous things, by the looks of it.


	4. Chapter 4

When the car finally came to a stop, it was in front of a huge, luxurious estate with a circular driveway that coiled around an ornate fountain. There were steps leading up to enormous double doors, made out of solid oak and adorned with door knockers that looked like snarling wolves.

“Whose house is this?” Sorin mused as we got out of the car, tilting her head back to take in the whole structure.

The boys looked among themselves once again and Jooheon answered, “Ours.”

“Your family owns this place?!” I asked incredulously, and Jooheon shook his head, smiling.

“No. It’s ours. Hyunwoo, Hoseok, Minhyuk, Hyungwon, Changkyun, Kihyun, and I all share ownership of it.”

Sorin’s mouth fell open, “Since when?!”

Changkyun smiled coyly and the three boys turned to the house without another word, leading the way up to the front doors. They unlocked the house and pushed the doors open. Jooheon and Minhyuk went in first to start turning on lights as Changkyun ushered Sorin and I inside. Minhyuk beckoned for us to follow him upstairs, dropping us off at separate suites with their own bathrooms, that sat across the hall from one another.

“I’ll have a fresh set of clothes on your beds by the time you get out of the shower, so when you’re ready, come back downstairs and we’ll feed you something simple. When Kihyun gets here he’s going to cook dinner, but I know you girls must be starving,” Seeing us only giving him blank stares in return, he sighed, “I know this is a lot to take in, but just trust us. We only want to protect and provide for you. You’ll get your answers soon enough. Just try not to be too angry, okay?”

He smiled and left us, going back downstairs. Sorin and I wordlessly glanced at each other before going into our respective rooms. I made a beeline for the shower, stripping off my old clothes and cranking the water up as hot as I could stand it, more than ready to wash off the several days worth of grime.

Sure enough, when I emerged from the steamy bathroom, my eyes were immediately drawn to the neat stack of clothes waiting for me on the bed. I changed into them and wandered out of the room, going back downstairs and finding my way to the kitchen. Sorin was already there, hair still wet from the shower, sitting at the bar while Changkyun gingerly tended to her injuries with an open first aid kit sitting on the counter between them. Jooheon offered me a sandwich, which I gratefully tucked into. It was gone in a matter of seconds, but it did help ease the hunger pains.  
Minhyuk then sat me down to work on my injuries while Jooheon stepped outside to call and check on the other four boys.

“Good news, they’re only ten minutes away.” He announced, coming back into the kitchen after a while.

“Great! I can’t wait for dinner.” Changkyun clapped his hands together, the sudden sound making both Sorin and myself jolt. He looked down sheepishly and apologised.

“Honestly, I’m more interested in knowing what exactly you guys have been hiding from us.” I huffed, looking out the window beside me while Minhyuk applied an ointment to the rope burns on my arms and wrists.

“It hurts that you three would keep secrets from us,” Sorin agreed, “And it hurts worse that our boyfriends would do the same. But our brothers? Our own flesh and blood? It’s shocking, really. Hyunwoo has always been the quiet one, but I thought we were transparent with each other.”

The three boys in the room guiltily kept their eyes trained away from us, looking extremely uncomfortable until we heard a second car pull into the driveway. Seconds later, the door opened, and our brothers and boyfriends came inside.

Hyungwon ran towards me, arms open to give me a hug, but he stopped short when he noticed my glare, “Eunmi, is that really any way to greet your brother who just helped save you from your kidnappers?”

“Something tells me that I wouldn’t have been kidnapped in the first place if it weren’t for you.” I snapped back at him.

He looked over at Minhyuk, who held his hands up in defense, “We haven’t said a word.”

“Eunmi felt like something was off about what you guys did for a living. I didn’t want to listen, but she was right. We need answers.” Sorin said, looking at the seven boys expectantly.

Kihyun cleared his throat, “Let me make dinner, and we can talk after we-”

“No, Kihyun! We need answers now!” I jumped up from my seat, staring my boyfriend down. He held my gaze for a moment, then looked away while pressing his lips into a tight line.

“What exactly are you guys into?” Sorin questioned, standing up with me.

“This is going to take a little while, so you may want to sit back down.” Hyunwoo said softly.

For the next hour or so, the boys did their best to explain everything. They went all the way back to the beginning, describing how they had been introduced to the lifestyle that they had been living behind our backs for years. They told us how, even though their methods were sometimes violent, their intentions were always good. They explained that they usually worked alongside police, using their reputation in this underground world they had become a part of to collect information on criminal activity, and to lock dangerous people away. Or end their existence, whichever happened first. They told us that they had been a big part in the recent bust, and that we had been kidnapped by a vengeful drug lord as a result.

“Did it never cross your mind that something like this might happen?” I asked Hyungwon, emotion overcoming me as I grew teary-eyed.

“I worried about it every day.” He admitted.

“What if it had been mom or dad? Or Kyungwon? What if those men had decided to do more harm to us than they did?” My voice got louder as I continued to pelt him with questions, the tears falling down my cheeks. I whirled to face Kihyun, “And you! What if they had found your niece instead?”

“You know that my brother and his family live in Japan.” Kihyun narrowed his eyes slightly.

“You’re missing the point!” I shouted, “You guys aren’t just putting Sorin and I at risk. There’s so many people who could get hurt because of this! Just because you guys think you’re untouchable, doesn’t mean the rest of us are.”

Having said my piece, I stormed out of the kitchen, shoving past Minhyuk as he tried to stop me. I ran upstairs and into the room where I had showered and changed earlier, slamming the door shut behind me. I threw myself onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling for a long time. I began to question everything I thought I knew about my brother and his friends that I had grown so close to. I even started to doubt my relationship with Kihyun, when speak of the devil, he opened the bedroom door and quietly came inside, gently closing it back behind him. I sat up as he approached me.

He was carrying a plate of food, and carefully set it down on the blanket in front of me, “I know you probably don’t want to eat together, but you still need to eat something.”

He placed a set of chopsticks in my hand, closing my fingers around them. I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes as I quietly asked, “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Kihyun slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, “We all thought keeping it a secret would protect both of you. We never wanted you or Sorin to become involved, because it is dangerous. We tried our hardest to keep our personal life and family separate from all of this.”

I poked at the rice on my plate with the chopsticks, “You guys have been doing this for years already. How much longer are you planning to live this way?”

He swallowed and looked down at his hands, “We figured that in a few more years, we would have done enough to serve the community. You and Sorin would be out of school, your tuition would be paid for, and we’d have so much property, investments and saved funds between the seven of us, that we would be able to live out the rest of our days comfortably.”

“Do you actually think you’d be able to freely leave this life in a few more years? What about all the enemies you accumulate now?”

He smiled sadly, “That’s why we have to eliminate our enemies now. Whether it’s by a life sentence, or by a bullet.”

I suddenly remembered seeing Kihyun with the gun aimed at one of my captors and a stone cold expression on his face. If I didn’t know him before that moment, I would have said he didn’t have a soul. That he showed no emotion. What if that was the real Kihyun, and this soft man sitting in front of me was the mask? I drew my knees up to my chest without thinking, still poking at the rice absently.

Kihyun sighed, then leaned over and kissed my forehead, “Eat. Hyungwon will probably come check on you later.”

I watched as he got up and walked to the door, but I called out to him before he left the room, “Kihyun… thank you. I’m still upset, but thank you.”

He nodded once, then left, closing the door behind him. I ate slowly, thinking things over, and once I was full, exhaustion claimed my mind and put me straight to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning I woke up before the sun rose to find Sorin had come into my room at some point during the night and made herself comfortable beside me. She had probably been too spooked to sleep alone, but too determined to go to her brother or Hoseok. I quietly got out of bed and went into the bathroom to change clothes, wanting to explore the house a little more before the others started waking up.

I stepped out into the hall and shut the bedroom door behind me, checking to make sure the coast was clear. I didn't see anyone else wandering about, so I started out by creeping down the hall, peering into the rooms that had the doors cracked. Hyungwon's room was open, as was Jooheon's, but I didn't have any interest in what their rooms in this house looked like. I proceeded to investigate the top floor, counting that there were ten suites like mine. There was also a game room and a large, empty room with huge windows that could be used as a studio.

I meandered downstairs, which was significantly more interesting. There were several parlor rooms and a large common space, plus a study and an actual library. When I went through the kitchen, I found a spacious dining room that had french doors on one wall, which lead to a deck that overlooked a massive swimming pool. As I walked out onto the deck, I couldn't help but wonder how much this place had cost.

I shrieked when I felt arms wrapping around me from behind, but relaxed a little when I realized it was just Kihyun.

"You scared me." I huffed.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"I heard you walking around, so I thought I'd come see what you were up to." He still sounded groggy, so I could tell he had just woken up.

"I just wanted to see more of the house."

He hummed, "I could've given you a tour. How did you sleep?"

"Alright I suppose, but I don't think Sorin slept well at all. She was in my bed when I woke up." I explained, remembering my best friend who was likely still passed out in the bed.

"I imagine you'll both be shaken up for a little while."

We stood there, quietly watching the sunrise together until Kihyun asked if I'd like to help him make breakfast. I agreed and we went back inside to start cooking. If it weren't for the new knowledge I had on the boys, this would have felt like any other time I'd worked with Kihyun in the kitchen. Of course, that was probably the point of it all; he was trying to show me that even though I knew this other side of him now, he was still Yoo Kihyun.

One by one, the boys started coming downstairs, bleary-eyed and sporting bedheads, but summoned by the promise of food. Sorin found her way downstairs as well, sometime in between her brother and Minhyuk. I passed her a cup of coffee and her eyes brightened.

"Oh, thank God. I thought I'd go into caffeine withdrawals." She wrapped her hands around the cup and breathed in the aroma.

"I gotchu, boo." I giggled.

Once everyone had come down and breakfast had been served, Sorin asked a question that had been weighing heavy on my mind as well, "This house is amazing and everything, but how long do we have to stay here?"

"A few days, maybe. Just long enough for us to make sure that any potential threat is... extinguished." Hoseok spoke from where he was seated beside her. For some reason, he wasn't wearing a shirt, and I speculated it was because he was trying to prove a similar point to Sorin that Kihyun was trying to prove to me. By the way Sorin was making a conscious effort not to look down at Hoseok's pecs and abs, I could tell that she was doing her best to maintain her resolve for being upset by the whole ordeal.

"I have another question. Which one of you is Monsta X?" I asked, nibbling on a piece of bacon.

All of their eyes widened at the mention of the name, and it was Hyunwoo who answered me, "We're all Monsta X."

I shrug, "Oh, I thought maybe one of you was using some sort of alias."

"Well," Changkyun spoke up, "A few of us do have other names that we go by. Mine is I.M for example, and Hyunwoo-hyung is Shownu. Hoseok-hyung goes by Wonho. Jooheon-hyung is now having us call him Joohoney. The rest of them use their regular names, though."

"Wonho?" Sorin tilted her head, "Where did you even get that name from?"

"That's a story for another time." Hoseok, or Wonho, smiled at her.

"I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that we've known each of you our entire lives, and yet we still knew nothing about this. For years." I lean against the countertop, finishing off my bacon.

Hyungwon frowned into his coffee cup, "And what you girls know of it now is going to be the last of what we tell you."

"What?"

"Kihyun informed you that we have a plan to continue this work for a few more years. That plan hasn't changed, but we still have to protect both of you. It'd be best if you would just treat the information you know now, as though you never learned it," My brother's words made me so angry, I couldn't even formulate a response, but he took my silence as compliance, "Most of us will be going to check up on some things today. Kihyun and Hoseok will stay here with you. I'm going by the apartment while I'm out, so make me a list of things you need. You'll both be getting brand new phones today as well, but I have to request that you stay off of social media for a while."

He stood up to clear his dishes, then brought me a pad and pen so I could make a note of things I needed.

"You should also try to make arrangements with your professors to take your exams remotely. We're not sure if we can get the situation under control in time enough for you to go back to school for your tests." Hyunwoo spoke in an authoritative tone I'd never heard him use before. Granted, I'd probably only heard him say ten sentences in all the years I'd known him, but still. He looked at Hoseok and frowned, "You should put on some clothes, sooner rather than later. I know you're dating my little sister, but I'm counting on you to behave yourself today."

Hoseok sighed and made for the stairs, "Yes, hyung."

I noticed Hyungwon giving Kihyun a pointed stare, silently telling him that the same rules applied. I smirked and began making the list, adding a separate section for things that Sorin needed, while the boys cleaned up the kitchen. Once everything was tidy again, Kihyun and Hoseok walked the others out to the cars waiting outside, probably discussing more things regarding their little "business." I watched them from the window for a second, then turned to Sorin with a sly grin.

"I know Hyungwon said that they're not telling us anything else, but how much information do you think we can milk from our boys?"

She smirked as she looked out the window with me, focusing on Hoseok's back, "Oh, I think we can get just a little more out of them. You know under all that muscle, Hoseok is just a big baby."

"Kihyun is going to be a little harder to convince," I said thoughtfully, admiring his slightly fluffed up hair, "But I think he's worried enough about being in the proverbial doghouse that I might just be able to wear him down."

"Let's try to find out everything we can." Sorin clasped her hands together, looking determined, and I agree. We figured that we'll need to get both of the boys softened up in order to loosen their lips, and what better way to do that than with a sappy movie and a cuddle session? We went to the living room, quickly working out how to operate the enormous flatscreen that was mounted to the wall and found the most tear jerking romantic comedy they had in the vast collection of DVD's stored on a shelf beneath it. Sorin went to fetch the plush blankets from our rooms while I gathered up some snacks, and we met each other back in front of the TV at about the same time Kihyun and Hoseok came back inside.

"What's all this?" Hoseok asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sorin put her arms around him, nestling against his chest, "Eunmi and I want to relax after how stressful things have been. Let's cuddle and watch movies, okay?"

"I can't argue with that." Hoseok smiled brightly, already melting in Sorin's arms.

I took Kihyun's hand and pulled him over to one of the couches, perking up at how eagerly he took a seat. Kihyun loved touching me. It didn't matter how, or where, but so long as we were connected in some way, he was content. Therefore it wasn't a surprise when he wound up laying at the back of the sofa, inviting me to lie down in front of him so that he could tuck his body around mine as we faced the screen. I could imagine Hyungwon scolding us for being so intimately close, and his voice was so clear in my head it was almost as though he were right there in the room. I shook my head and pressed closer to Kihyun's chest, smiling as I felt him pulling one of the blankets over us before letting his arm rest on my waist.

I looked over at where Sorin and Hoseok were laying on one of the other couches. Hoseok was on his back, his head propped up on the arm of the sofa so he could watch the movie, and Sorin was on top of him, her head tucked under his chin and turned towards the screen. Her eyes met mine and she shot me a wink, which I returned, then we both focused on the movie.

By the time it was over, Sorin and I were sniffling, passing a box of tissues back and forth between us. Kihyun looked a little misty eyed, but Hoseok was actually sobbing. He had grabbed a bag of tortilla chips at some point in the movie to snack on, but he was crying into them now.

Sorin looked at him, biting her lip to keep from laughing, slightly amused even though she was also tearful, "Hoseokie, it's okay. Do you want to go lay down together for a little while?"

I watched as the man took a stuttering breath and nodded right before another set of sobs racked his body. They stood up and went upstairs, so I leaned against Kihyun and stayed quiet until my own tears had dried. He rubbed my shoulder soothingly.

"I don't know why people enjoy movies that make them so emotional." He said quietly, and I shrugged.

"It's important to feel things."

"I suppose it is."

I thought over my next words carefully, "Did you cry the first time you shot somebody?"

I felt Kihyun's body tense up immediately at my question, "I don't think that's something we need to talk about, love."

"I think it is," I turned so that I was able to nuzzle his neck, "I saw you holding that man at gunpoint, Ki. You looked like you'd done it a thousand times."

He sighed, reaching up with one hand to pet my hair, "It'd be for the best if you would forget that you saw me like that."

"I can't." It was true. How was I supposed to erase something like that from my mind? He didn't say anything else, and I started to get frustrated. There were so many questions I had, still. Maybe I could try another angle.

I took a breath and crossed my fingers for the reaction I was hoping to get, "I can't forget about it because... well, I think you looked really hot."

Kihyun made a choking sound, "You what?"

"You know," I nudged him in the ribs with my elbow, grinning, "Seeing you acting all manly was kind of sexy, even if it was only for a second. You look good with a gun."

"Eunmi, that's kind of twisted," He laughed nervously, "But thank you, I guess."

"So are you going to answer my question?"

Kihyun sighed, "Yes, I cried. Taking a life for the first time is not something you just do and forget about, whether that person deserves it or not."

"How many people have you killed?" I asked, trying to sound curious instead of terrified. I never would have imagined that Kihyun would kill someone, not in a million years, not for any reason. I had to consciously stop myself from flinching when I felt his arms tighten around me.

"Now that's something that we definitely don't need to talk about. Eunmi, you do know that I would never hurt you, right?"

I swallowed and nodded, meeting his eyes with a small smile. He gave me a knowing look and kissed my forehead. By now he had probably already sniffed out what I was up to, because he did his best to change the subject, and to derail my train of thought any time he sensed me coming back around to anything that had to do with crimes or police or gangs. I hoped that Sorin had been more successful with Hoseok, because I wasn't going to get anywhere with Kihyun.


	6. Chapter 6

For the next few days, Sorin and I weren't allowed to leave the house unless it was just for a quick walk around the immediate lawn. There were always at least two of the boys at the house with us at any given point, keeping a close watch on us, and keeping their mouths shut even tighter. Apparently Hoseok had caught onto Sorin's plan early on, because she hadn't gotten anything out of him after taking him upstairs. Kihyun and Hoseok must have tattled on us too, because whenever I was near Hyungwon, I could feel his eyes on me as he silently judged me from the opposite side of the room.

On the bright side, by some miracle Sorin and I had both been excused from taking our exams in person. It was well known that our families were close, so saying that there had been an emergency was a believable enough excuse. We spent a lot of our days catching up on studying, mixed with playing games or watching movies with whoever was in the house with us.

"I'm so bored!" Sorin whined, flopping down across my lap while I sat on the couch, reading a book.

"Me too," I conceded, setting the book aside so I could play with her hair, "I wish we could go out and do something. Like hit the club, maybe. It's been a while since we did that."

"Oh, that would be so much fun!" She nodded quickly. About that time, Hyunwoo walked through the room, casting a disapproving look at us but not commenting any further on our conversation. Sorin rolled her eyes as he passed through the next door.

"Why would either of you need to go to the club?" Changkyun asked from where he was lounging on another couch, "You have boyfriends."

"We don't go for the men." I grumbled.

"Yeah, we like to go for the music and the alcohol. They run crazy specials sometimes, you know? The last time we went, every drink was only like six thousand won as long as we got through the door before ten o'clock." Sorin sighed dreamily.

"I'm surprised you remember that much." I poked her ribs and she squealed with laughter, but it only encouraged me to keep attacking her. I finally stopped when she nearly kicked me in the face, and she glared at me.

"You're actually the worst. I'm going to sit with Kyun." She got up and stomped over to Changkyun, plopping down in his lap.

I whined and lazily reached my arms towards her, "Baby, don't leave me!"

She only huffed and turned her head away. Changkyun smiled and wrapped his arms around her, "This is fine with me, I haven't had quality time with Sorin in ages. You hog her all the time, Eunmi."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Yeah, well, at least I haven't been lying to her about being in a gang for years. That's why I'm her best friend."

Changkyun's face fell, "Wow. You're really going to be like that?"

I sighed and got up, walking out to the deck so that I could sit down and look out over the pool. I knew that was a little mean, but being cooped up all the time was making me more irritable than usual. Whenever I thought of why I had to be cooped up in the first place, I got angrier. This wasn't my fault, and it wasn't my choice, but I was still paying the price for it. I closed my eyes and dozed in the sunshine until I felt light tap on my shoulders.

I opened my eyes to see Hyungwon staring down at me. I frowned, "What do you want?"

"I'm just letting you know I made it here safe."

"Go back." I muttered, closing my eyes again.

Hyungwon pinched my neck, "You're so rude."

I swatted his hand away, "Leave me alone, I don't like you right now."

He sighed and sat down in the chair closest to me, "You hurt Changkyun's feelings. I know you're still upset, but I need you to understand why we didn't tell either of you. Think about it from our side."

"If I had been in your shoes, I wouldn't have gotten involved to begin with." I snapped.

"Listen to me, you brat," His tone was sharp and intimidating, one that he only used when he was truly angry about something, "The reason I did this was to provide for you and for our family. Where do you think the money for your tuition is coming from, huh? Do you honestly believe mom and dad were able to save enough for you to attend a private university and for you to not have to put a cent towards it? How do you think your car kept running when you have no idea how to maintain it and you never take it to a shop? And how do you think we could afford an apartment in such a nice part of town when, again, you don't have to pay for any of it?"

I blinked at him in surprise, "Hyungwon, I..."

"I don't want to hear it right now, Eunmi. You're spoiled and you never think about the bigger picture. I never had a problem with it before. I like being able to do things for you, but you're being so cruel. Come find me when you're actually ready to listen." He stood up from his seat and went back inside.

I looked back at the pool, starting to feel a little guilty for how I'd been acting. Of course I was still upset about it. After all, it wasn't right that they had all been lying. But he had a point. There were a lot of things that were just magically paid for and taken care of, and I never gave it much thought. I had gotten comfortable in the lifestyle that Hyungwon had given me. Maybe I should lighten up on the boys. Maybe if I did they'd be more willing to answer my questions.

I got up and padded back inside, finding Kihyun in the kitchen working on dinner. I watched him quietly for a moment, then walked up behind him and put my arms around his waist.

He jolted slightly, "Woah, what's this? Are you seeking me out now? Without an ulterior motive?"

"I am allowed to, aren't I?" I pressed my cheek into his back and hugged him tighter.

I felt him laugh before he continued his work, "Yes, you are. Does this mean we're good?"

He was looking over his shoulder at me and I smiled at him, "We're a little better."

Eventually I let go, leaving the kitchen to see who else I could find. I stumbled into Changkyun next, and he scratched the back of his head nervously when he saw me.

"I'm sorry," I said before he got the chance to speak, and he blinked at me, "I shouldn't have said that earlier. You're a good friend to Sorin. And to me."

A soft smile tugged on his lips, "It's alright. If the tables were turned I'd probably feel the same way. Just stop thinking it's because we don't care about you two. We do."

He ruffled my hair and continued past me, so I made my way upstairs. All of the rooms were open except for Hyungwon's, and I paused in front of the door nervously. I debated for a while on whether I should knock or not. Ultimately I decided to just go in, and after taking a breath, I did so.

Hyungwon was lying on his bed with his eyes closed, but he opened one to see me and frowned. I marched over to the bed and dramatically threw myself onto the empty side.

"I apologized to Changkyun." I said.

"Did you?"

"And I gave Kihyun a hug."

"I see."

I paused to weigh his expression, but he was a blank slate, "Can I have my brother back?"

He finally looked at me, "Eunmi, I didn't go anywhere. I haven't changed at all. If you would just ignore the fact that I've been in a secret gang, you'd see that nothing is different."

"It's still scary, though." I pouted.

"Come here, brat," He opened his arms and I happily accepted the hug, resting my head on his chest, "We slipped up, and you girls got caught up in it. That's our fault. But that will never happen again. I promise."

"How can you be so sure, oppa?"

He patted my head, "Because we're going to be doubly careful from now on. And we're going to teach you how to defend yourselves, and what you need to keep an eye out for."

"So... you're not really asking me to forget, you just want me to learn to live with it?" I questioned.

He hummed thoughtfully, "Yes, I suppose so. But I don't want you trying to find out more about that life, either. It's dangerous. You have to swear to me that you'll keep your nose out of it from now on, and just trust us."

"But there's so many things that I'm curious about!" I protested.

"Aish, you're too nosy. Okay, I'll make a deal with you," Hyungwon let go of me and sat up, "I'll give you ten minutes tonight where you can ask me anything you want, and I'll answer it if the information isn't too sensitive. After that time is up, though, you can't ask any more questions of me or the others."

"Only ten?! That's not enough time, you should give me an hour."

"Alright, alright. An hour is too long, so I'll give you thirty minutes. But that's it. Deal?"

I figured that this was the best I was going to get, "Deal."

"Your time starts now."

"Hyungwon!"

"Time's ticking." He smirked playfully.

"You're such an ass," I groaned, tipping my head as I quickly tried to prioritize my questions, "You guys said you helped the police with that big drug bust. Have all of the jobs you've helped with been on the news?"

"No, only the really big ones."

"What's the biggest investigation you guys have helped with?"

"I can't tell you the details of it, but it has to do with an unsolved murder case. We're still working on it, actually."

"Really? Like those murder mysteries on TV?" My eyes lit up at the idea that the boys were playing detective.

"Don't look at me like that, I can tell you're getting too interested in it. As a side note, I thought I told you to stop watching those true crime shows." He scolded me.

"Killjoy," I frowned, "Have you ever worked for the bad guys? Like, have you smuggled drugs or anything?"

Hyungwon scoffed, "No, never. You should know us better than that."

I raised my eyebrows, "Like I should have known that all of this was going on in the first place?"

"Don't start."

I rolled my eyes, and remembered the conversation I had with Kihyun about his first kill. If you could even call that a conversation, "Have you ever killed anybody?"

Hyungwon stared at me quietly for what felt like years, "Yes. We all have. Don't ask me any more questions like that."

I found it hard to determine exactly how I felt, knowing that my own brother had ended someone's life. I was surprised, and maybe a little bit nervous. Hyungwon held his hand out to me so I took it, and he squeezed my hand lightly, trying to comfort me.

"I'm alright," I said quietly, trying to come up with a new question, "Have you ever gotten hurt on a job?"

"Yes, but nothing serious."

The remainder of that thirty minute window seemed to fly by and once it was over, we both went downstairs to eat with the others. I sat at the table beside Minhyuk, and Hyungwon took the seat on my other side. Kihyun sat across from me, looking between Hyungwon and I curiously, probably surprised to see us in such close proximity since we hadn't been on speaking terms for a while.

Dinner went smoothly; the conversation was almost as relaxed as it had always been. That is, until Minhyuk mentioned something about needing to get new clothes for something, and I was reminded that Sorin and I were basically imprisoned at the house.

I cleared my throat, "So, it's been a few days. When do we get to go back into the general population?"

"Yeah, I want to go shopping too!" Sorin banged her fist on the table.

"Is it even safe enough yet?" Changkyun asked, drawing his eyebrows together.

"Well, we haven't been seeing any strange activity, but personally I'd rather give it a little longer just to be sure." Kihyun said before sipping on his drink and avoiding my death stare.

Sorin groaned loudly, "If I have to spend another day stuck in this house I'm going to lose my damn mind."

"That's a touch dramatic." Hyunwoo pursed his lips.

"I'm serious! We barely get to see the sun! It feels like we're in Alcatraz or something, and I for one haven't done anything wrong!" Sorin crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair.

Jooheon spoke up from the end of the table he was sitting at, "Why don't I take them out tomorrow for a little while? I'll stay with them the entire time and we'll only be gone for like, two hours. We did say they would only need to stay here for a few days, and maybe if they're able to go out for a little bit we'll see if things have actually calmed down."

"See! I like Jooheon's plan." Sorin pointed at the man, who smiled cheerfully and showed off his precious dimples.

Hyunwoo sighed deeply, looking between his sister, Jooheon, and myself, "I don't know..."

"Please, oppa! It'll only be a couple hours!" Sorin folded her hands together, pleading with her older brother. It took a moment but he finally nodded, and Sorin and I jumped up, shouting excitedly as we ran over to where Hyunwoo was sitting and tackled him with hugs. He was smiling cutely when we let go, but then we were running towards Jooheon, who scrambled out of his seat and bolted from the dining room.

"Joohoney! Come back!" Sorin cried, running after him.

"You've saved us, let us love you!" I screamed, hot on her heels.

The rest of the boys were dying with laughter at our antics, and I'm pretty sure Minhyuk had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. After managing to corner Jooheon in the living room and giving him adequate hugs for volunteering to take us out, we went back to the kitchen to help clean up for the night.


	7. Chapter 7

Even with as grateful as we were to Jooheon for getting us out of the house, it was silently agreed upon that we needed to ditch him. There was no way we would be able to do anything fun, since Jooheon surely had to tell our brothers about every little detail, and if we acted like the typical college aged girls that we were, then we were bound to get scolded.

The perfect opportunity arose when we stopped at a boba cafe. Jooheon went inside to get drinks, stupidly leaving Sorin and I to our own devices at a table outside, so we took the chance and ran. We only slowed down once we were far from the cafe, and immediately started looking for the best sort of trouble we could possibly get into, better known as the nearest club. Even though it wasn’t quite dark outside, there was still a full party going on inside when we arrived, and we immediately went to the bar for our first drinks of the evening.

Once we started dancing, I lost all track of time. A few guys bought more drinks for Sorin and I, which we happily accepted, laughing all the while with the knowledge that our interactions with these poor men wouldn’t go any farther than spending their money for them. I could feel my phone buzzing in my pocket from time to time, but knowing that it was probably Hyungwon, I ignored it.

Sorin dragged me out to the middle of the dancefloor, and between the lights and the thumping music drowning out any other sound, I felt like I was letting go of myself. That was the feeling people came to the club for, that sense of letting all your troubles slip away and releasing the version of yourself that had to stay hidden away most of the time.

A while later, the two of us were leaning against the bar, panting heavily as we tried to get some energy back from all of that dancing. Sorin was taking a sip of a fresh drink through a little black straw, her eyes scanning the crowd before they suddenly widened and she nearly spewed her drink out of her mouth. I twisted my neck to see what she was looking at, and it took a moment for me to process the three faces that were scowling at us.

“Luckily I had the wherewithal to install GPS trackers on your phones. Shownu was against it at first, but I had a feeling you’d pull some stunt like this.” Hyungwon said, leaning on the bar next to me.

Hyunwoo was in front of Sorin with his arms crossed, and he looked absolutely terrifying, “You should be ashamed. Do you know how scared Jooheon was when he realized that you two were gone? He was in tears when he called.”

I glanced over at Jooheon, who was standing by Hyunwoo silently. His eyes definitely looked red, and I thought I could see his lower lip still trembling. I buried my face in my hands as the guilt sank in. I felt Hyungwon grab my wrists and he tugged my hands back down.

“Don’t hide. Seriously, Eunmi, did you girls have to cause such needless worry? After everything that just happened?” My brother sighed heavily, pausing so that he could choose his next words carefully, “I know you’re not a kid. I know you didn’t want supervision, but that wasn’t why Jooheon came. He’s your friend, and he wanted to look out for you. You could have just asked him to come here with you.”

“I would have said yes, you know,” Jooheon finally spoke, keeping his eyes lowered, “Besides, you guys would have needed someone to help get you back to the house. I’m not sure what your plan was for that.”

I looked back at Sorin, who was still sipping on her drink as an excuse to not meet her brother’s eyes. Hyungwon took my hand and tugged me away from the bar, “Come on, let’s go. You’re both wasted and your two hours have long been up.”

The boys guided us out of the club and to the car. Jooheon sat in the back with Sorin and I, but he didn’t say anything on the ride, only fidgeting with his hands. I leaned over to rest my head on his shoulder, partly from feeling guilty about worrying him, and partly because my head was spinning so severely I thought I might die if I didn’t find something solid to rest on. After a moment, I felt Jooheon’s cheek pressing against the top of my head as he sighed.

“We’re still friends, don’t worry. I’m just a little hurt you didn’t want to tell me.” He said quietly. I nodded slowly, but couldn’t muster the courage to open my mouth and apologize at that moment. My stomach was turning too much.

When we made it back to the house, the other four boys were waiting right by the front door. Kihyun took one look at me and immediately went into nagging mode, first scolding me for running off and then for getting into the condition I was currently in. Hoseok took one look at Sorin and turned into a doting mother, running around to get her some water and pain medicine and a snack. I scowled at Kihyun and started to argue back, or at least I tried to in my slurred tone, but then Minhyuk was handing me a water bottle and saying he was glad that I was safe and I suddenly turned into a puddle of emotions. I sobbed about how sorry I was for worrying everyone and making Jooheon cry, and reached out to hug Minhyuk while Sorin patted my back and nodded along.

Kihyun took me up to my room once I settled down, bringing another water and a bottle of medicine for the headache I'd surely have in the morning. He tucked me in, leaning down to kiss my forehead, but instead of allowing him to pull back, I wrapped my arms around his neck and tugged him down into the bed with me. He yelped in surprise, catching himself on his elbows and hovering over me.

“Eunmi, what are you doing?” He asked, looking exasperated.

“My head is spinning, Ki,” I whined, hugging him closer, “Stay here and cuddle with me. It’ll make me feel better.”

He sighed in defeat, shifting so that he rested on the bed next to me, tucking one arm under my head and draping the other over my waist. I wore a giddy smile as I looked him in the eye, and eventually a small grin fell on his lips. He inched closer and nuzzled my cheek, “You’re a mess.”

Someone cleared their throat at the doorway, causing Kihyun to glance up. I twisted my neck to see Hyungwon leaned against the doorframe, his arms folded across his chest and his eyes judging. I stuck my tongue out at him and cuddled closer to Kihyun, turning my face into my boyfriend’s neck.

“You better behave, hyung.”

Kihyun’s chest vibrated as he answered, “I’m just keeping her company until she falls asleep.”

"I'm watching you." Hyungwon threatened before his footsteps receded down the hall.

Kihyun snickered, "Your brother can be really scary."

I just hummed, too tired to form a response. I felt Kihyun's arms tighten around me, and he whispered something I didn't quite catch. It was only moments later that the warmth from his body and the softness of the bed lulled me to sleep.

***

“Don’t let me drink that much ever again.” Sorin groaned.

We were commiserating at the dining table, trying to choke down the “hangover cure” smoothies that Hoseok had made for us. I wasn’t entirely sure what was in it, but it was thick and tasted horrible. Sorin was dutifully sipping hers, cringing all the while, and if she could survive drinking it then I knew I could as well.

That didn’t stop either of us from complaining at the loudest volume we could manage.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” I muttered, resting my forehead against the cool wooden tabletop.

“You’ve been saying that for the past fifteen minutes.” Minhyuk chuckled from where he sat on the other side of the table.

My mouth watered suddenly and I felt my stomach clench, “This time I’m serious.”

I carefully stood and stumbled up the stairs to my bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time to empty my stomach. Again. Kihyun came in and quickly pulled my hair away from my face, gently tying it back with one of the many elastic bands that were scattered on top of the vanity. He waited with me until I stopped heaving, then jumped up to retrieve a clean washcloth from the towel rack and wet it with cool water in the sink. He wrung it out and came back to me, gently dabbing the cloth on my face and the back of my neck.

"You okay?" Kihyun asked.

I groaned in response and weakly reached for the flush handle.

"Alright, get up. Brush your teeth and go lay down. I'll bring you some water and food and we can watch movies together until you feel better."

Kihyun helped me to my feet and left the bathroom once I got my toothbrush ready. I tiredly brushed the taste of bile out of my mouth, taking longer than I normally would have to complete the simple task. I rinsed my mouth out and trudged to the bed, throwing myself down pathetically and crawling up to the head of the bed so I could nestle into the pillows.

I must have dozed off shortly after that, because the next thing I knew, the television was on with the volume down low and I was comfortably toasty thanks to Kihyun's body heat. There was a glass of water waiting for me next to the bed, plus a banana and a can of mixed nuts. I reached for the water, my movement alerting Kihyun to the fact that I was now fully conscious.

He glanced over at me and smiled softly, "Your color looks a little better. How do you feel?"

"Like I died and was resurrected." I said after taking a healthy drink and setting the cup back down safely. I then grabbed the nuts, since the nausea had passed and was replaced with the feeling of exhaustion and an intense hunger. Kihyun watched me munch on the snack for a moment.

"Your brother wanted to talk to you once you were up."

"Oh no, please don't make me go. He's going to scold me for last night." I whined.

Kihyun cocked an eyebrow, "You kind of deserve it."

"Please? I'll do anything."

"Anything?" Kihyun questioned with a teasing grin. I nodded quickly, setting the nuts aside and rolling more towards him, waiting for his response. He deliberated for a moment, but ultimately shook his head, "As much as I'd love to get a favor off of you, we both know that I can't spare you from Chae Hyungwon."

I groaned and sat up, frowning at the bedroom door, "I guess I should go get this over with."

"Wait! I can buy you a little time. Free of charge." Kihyun pulled me onto his lap and I rested my hands on his shoulders comfortably.

I smirked, "What did you have in mind?"

Kihyun hummed, then leaned forward and captured my lips in a slow kiss. I sighed against his lips and relaxed, allowing my eyes to flutter closed and my fingers to travel up into Kihyun's soft hair. His hands spread over my waist and rubbed gently, drawing me closer until our bodies were flush with each other. He ran his tongue along my lower lip, asking for entrance, which was a request I eagerly obliged.

The moment Kihyun's tongue slipped into my mouth, I closed my lips around the curious muscle and sucked on it lightly, earning a groan from him.

The kiss got heavier and Kihyun's fingers dug into my skin hard enough to make me squirm, but not enough to bruise. Suddenly, he flipped us, pinning me on my back beneath him with my head caged between his arms and his mouth attacking the skin where my shoulder met my neck. I scratched down his back and he shuddered, pulling his lips away with a heavy sigh.

"You should go before we take things too far." He murmured.

"Why?" I pouted, my brain feeling a little hazy.

"If Hyungwon found out that you're not innocent, you'd get scolded for a lot more than just running off to get drunk, and I'd probably be dead." Kihyun chuckled and pecked me on the lips before getting off the bed and helping me to my feet.

He walked me out of the room and down the hall to where Hyungwon's room was, then left me there with a thumbs up. I grumbled and knocked on the door, only entering when I heard my brother call out. He was working on his laptop on his bed, which he promptly closed when he looked up and saw me. His eyes narrowed a little bit as he took in the sight of me.


	8. Chapter 8

"You look terrible." Hyungwon observed.

I grunted and approached the bed, sitting down in front of him and pulling my legs up so they were criss-crossed, "This ranks as one of my worst hangovers to date."

"You're so irresponsible," Hyungwon glared, and the scolding began, "How could you put yourself at risk? Put Sorin at risk? If someone had been tailing you, they could have easily kidnapped you while you were drunk out of your mind. Why would you scare us like that? We just got you out of a situation where you were being held for ransom!"

I had been looking down at my hands in my lap, taking in my brother's words, but my head snapped up when I heard Hyungwon's voice break a little. His face was ridden with emotion and the lines of his eyes had softened to show sadness and worry.

I reached forward to take one of his hands in both of mine, "I'm sorry, oppa. We didn't think about any of that. We just wanted to feel normal again and have fun, and we felt like Jooheon would have to report back to you guys."

"Eunmi, I am so sorry that you've gotten dragged into this. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Now I just want to protect you until things can be normal again," Hyungwon sniffled and lowered his head, "Please, let me do this."

I leaned forward and hugged my brother tight, his arms instantly wrapping around me to return the embrace. We wound up lying back on the bed where it was more comfortable, but we remained close, each of our presence soothing the other.

“Have you talked to eomma and appa lately?” I asked.

“I have,” Hyungwon nodded, running his fingers through my hair like he used to do when we were younger and I’d wake up with a nightmare, “But you should talk to them soon. Kyungwon, too, he was asking about you. He said he tried to call you but since I had your old phone disabled, the call didn’t go through. I told him your phone was broken.”

I frowned, “So Kyungwon-oppa really doesn’t know about all this either?”

“Nobody was supposed to know outside of the seven of us.” Hyungwon sighed.

I was quiet for a moment, feeling an odd sense of loneliness at the fact that I was the only blood relative who knew Hyungwon was in a gang. For only a second, I considered letting our brother in on the secret when I talked to him, but then I started to worry about how he would react to the news and how that might affect things. I began to understand why it had been such a carefully kept secret until now, and found a sort of appreciation for how hard it must have been to hide it.

“Can I use your phone to call them, then?” I got back to our original point of discussion.

Hyungwon hummed affirmatively, “You can, but later. I’m not ready to let you go yet, and I have several things to say about this hickey on your neck.”

I blushed furiously, my thoughts jumping back to how Kihyun had been nibbling at that spot not even an hour ago. I mentally cursed him for leaving a mark, and then myself for not being in the right frame of mind to stop him, all while Hyungwon dove into a new lecture.

***

The house was dead silent as Sorin and I sat across from each other in the living room, working on the brand new laptops we had been given. It was exam time, so the guys had all found something to do to keep their rowdiness out of the house with the exception of Hyunwoo. Someone needed to make sure we didn’t run off again, and he was the quietest of everyone so he didn’t create any distractions.

I finished my exam first, stretching with a blissful sigh as my back popped. Sorin pouted at me over her laptop screen, “Are you seriously done? Don’t leave me, I have like five questions left.”

“I’m going to get my earbuds, and then I’ll be back to watch movies. If you’re finished by the time I’m back we can just chill.” I assured her before setting the laptop aside and getting up. I went upstairs to my room and unplugged my earbuds from my phone, draping them around my neck as I checked for new messages out of habit. Of course, nobody had this number aside from the boys and Sorin, so I was shocked to see a text from an unknown number. I worried my lower lip between my teeth and curiously opened it.

I felt the blood drain from my face when the message revealed pictures of Sorin and I that had been taken the very day we abandoned Jooheon. The first few images were of the two of us walking around with Jooheon, and then there was one of us running from the boba cafe. There were several pictures of us at the club, drinking and dancing, and then another from when our brothers had shown up to retrieve us. The last picture sent me into a panic.

It was a shot of this house, taken from a distance. The message beneath the picture read, “ _When will you come out to play again? I’m getting impatient._ ”

“Hyunwoo!” I screamed, running out of the room.

The man met me at the bottom of the steps, his eyes wide and questioning, “What happened?!”

I thrust my phone into his hands and he quickly scrolled through the pictures, muttering curses under his breath. He didn’t give the phone back, just held it as he pulled his own from his pocket and made a call. He turned away and I followed after him.

“Where are you guys?” Hyunwoo asked once the call was picked up.

I couldn’t hear the response.

“I need all of you back here. Now.” Hyunwoo gestured for me to go sit with Sorin, and I immediately obeyed. He walked into the kitchen and I couldn’t hear him anymore.

“What was that about?” Sorin asked worriedly.

I sighed shakily, “I think we really messed up.”

Minutes later, after I’d explained the messages to Sorin, the car that carried the other six boys whipped into the driveway and came to a screeching halt. The engine was barely off before they all jumped out and flooded inside. Hyungwon’s eyes immediately searched for me, and he seemed relieved when he found me sitting by Sorin, unharmed.

“I couldn’t tell you about this over the phone, but have a look.” Hyunwoo handed my phone to Minhyuk, who gasped when he saw the pictures.

“Oh. This is significantly less than ideal.”

“Can you figure out who sent it, Min?” Hyunwoo asked. Minhyuk handed the phone to Hyungwon, who silently glared down at the screen.

“Yeah, I can try. We’re going to have to move the girls pretty soon, though, right?”

Hyunwoo nodded, “Let’s go to the safe room to come up with a plan. I can’t trust that the house isn’t bugged. I.M, stay up here and keep an eye on them, please. I’ll fill you in on what we’re going to do later.”

Changkyun nodded and sat down on the couch, on Sorin’s other side, and we tried to wait patiently. My knee bounced rapidly as I fidgeted with anything I could get my hands on. Sorin was just staring at her hands in her lap, her eyes distant and her lips slightly pursed.

“There’s no telling how long they’re going to take,” Changkyun sighed after a while, “Let’s do something to take your minds off the situation, even if it’s only for a little bit.”

I was ready to snap at him when he stood and crossed the room to the television. He opened a little cabinet beneath it and revealed an old, but very familiar, Nintendo Gamecube. I mainly recognized it by the smiley face that had been drawn in red sharpie under the ports for the controllers - my own handiwork - and the fading holographic butterfly sticker that Sorin had stuck in the top left corner of the console’s face.

“You still have that thing?” Sorin asked, awestruck.

“Of course I do! There’s way too many good memories attached to it to trash it. I had a guy at the game store check it out last year to make sure it still works.” Changkyun explained as he dug around for some controllers. Unfortunately, none of them were our originals, but in all fairness we hadn’t been easy on them in our childhood. The new controllers were accompanied by cord extensions, so we would be able to play from the comfort of the couch and not risk ruining our eyesight.

Changkyun got everything hooked up and flashed us a grin, “What do you girls say to a friendly game of Kirby Air Ride?”

“Oh, you’re going down, Kyun.” I smirked.

The game was, in fact, far from friendly as we were all using the tactics we had developed as children to beat each other. Changkyun had managed to win the first round since Sorin and I were a little out of practice, but we were sure to make him eat his gloating words in the following races. I was having so much fun that I eventually lost track of time. It could have been hours later when I finally noticed Hyungwon leaning against the wall, watching us with a fond, but sad smile.

“How long have you been there?” I asked.

“Not too long,” He shrugged, then his eyes met Changkyun’s, “We have a plan. Shownu is waiting to update you in the safe room.”

Changkyun nodded and put his controller down. I stood up quickly before he could leave, “Wait, are you not going to tell us what we’re supposed to be doing?”

Hyungwon sighed heavily, “Please don’t do this right now.”

Sorin spoke next, standing up with me, “No, she’s right. If we’re a part of this plan, then it’s only fair that we’re in the know.”

“They do have a point, hyung. I’m sure it would go a lot smoother with their full cooperation.” Changkyun tagged on softly.

Hyungwon ran a hand through his hair and pressed his lips together tightly. After a moment, he caved, “Fine. But neither of you are going to like what we have in mind. It’s already in the works, so there will be no changes.”

My brother turned on his heel and Sorin and I followed after him with Changkyun right behind us. Hyungwon led us into the kitchen and to the pantry, which I’d been to plenty of times in search of snacks. What I hadn’t noticed in all my visits was the false wall at the back of the small room. I gasped when he pushed it open.

“Woah,” Sorin breathed, “This feels like we’re in one of those spy movies.”

Changkyun snorted and Hyungwon rolled his eyes. We passed through the entryway, which opened to a small antechamber that was, for a lack of better words, decorated with weaponry. I shifted my eyes nervously away from the guns, and my gaze settled on another door that waited at the opposite end. This door was made of thick, shiny metal, and there was a keypad off to the side. Hyungwon quickly pressed a series of buttons, and the lock inside the door clicked loudly to signify that it was open. Changkyun reached past us to open the door, holding it for us as we entered the safe room.

The space looked like a mix between a luxurious suite and a fallout shelter. In addition to dark leather and wood furniture, there were more weapons, a stash of extra food, and an actual safe. The safe was standing open while Hyunwoo counted through a stack of cash that must have been inside it. He looked up when we entered and shot Hyungwon a questioning glance when he saw Sorin and I standing with Changkyun.

“They insisted on being privy to the plan.” Hyungwon explained, flopping down on the couch.

Hyunwoo looked back at us, his eyes shifting between our faces until his shoulders dropped a little, “I guess it wouldn’t hurt for them to know, just this once. Have a seat.”


	9. Chapter 9

Hyunwoo was working on splitting up the money into several piles while he talked, "First thing's first, the others are already combing the house and the surrounding area for any cameras or wires. After everything is disposed of, we're splitting up and leaving in the dark."

"Who is going where?" Changkyun asked.

"You and Wonho will take Sorin to the fifth house," Hyunwoo explained, "Without Eunmi there, you two will be the best at keeping Sorin calm. Eunmi, you'll be with Kihyun and Jooheon at a separate location. Hyungwon and I are going somewhere else in hopes of misleading any potential tails, and we need Minhyuk with us."

Changkyun nodded his agreement with the plan while Sorin and I looked at each other nervously. We were going to be separated, for the first time ever, and for an undetermined amount of time.

“We’ll still be able to talk, though, right?” I asked.

Hyunwoo wasn’t meeting my eyes.

“Oppa?” Sorin pressed anxiously.

“I’m sorry, girls. We have to restrict contact during this time. We’re still not sure how these people managed to contact you, Eunmi, so we have to minimize the risk of it happening again.” Hyunwoo looked troubled, and the mere thought of being in the dark about Sorin's safety had my head spinning.

Hyungwon spoke, his voice sounding as though he were exhausted, "I know that it's asking a lot given recent events, but we need you both to trust us. We're not going to allow anything else to happen to either of you, alright?"

I wasn't sure when I started crying, but my brother's brows shot up in alarm when he saw the tears slipping down my cheeks. He hurried to my side and hugged me tight, kissing the top of my head in an attempt to soothe me.

"What if something happens to you guys? I won’t be able to talk to you, either." I whimpered.

Hyungwon shushed me, "I promise you, everything will be fine. Just give us time."

“How long are we going to be split up like this.” Sorin asked shakily. Changkyun was rubbing her arms and Hyunwoo seemed unsure about what to do.

“As long as it takes to make sure you’re safe again.” Hyunwoo said, determination poorly masking the fear in his voice.

“We’ve figured out a system on how the gang will keep each other updated. I think we should speak with Changkyun privately about that, but try not to worry too much. We won’t be totally out of touch. We just have to take extra precautions. You and Sorin may not be able to speak with each other directly for a little while, but Kihyun and Jooheon can tell you how she is.” Hyungwon stroked the back of my head and drew back so he could give me a smile.

I forced one back and pulled out of his arms. I made my way over to Sorin and held out my hand, “Come on, let’s leave them to talk about the finer details.”

She reluctantly placed her hand in mine and allowed me to pull her to her feet.

“Girls,” Hyunwoo called, “Pack up some necessities while you wait - as few as possible. We won’t be long.”

Sorin sniffed hard and nodded, then tugged on my hand. She took the lead out of the safe room and into the house, but only released my hand once we were at the top of the stairs. I wanted to ask her how she was feeling, but I knew it wasn’t good. How could it be? I quietly watched as she crossed the hall and closed herself in her room before I went into mine.

I could tell the room had been thoroughly searched for cameras and wires, and I couldn’t help the prickling feeling that crawled up my spine as I wondered if the boys had found anything. I went to the closet and pulled out my backpack, which had been one of the things Hyungwon retrieved from the apartment for me, and emptied it of all the books and papers that were inside. The term was almost over, so I hoped I had a high enough grade to afford going off grid right now. I didn’t have much of a choice either way.

I took my now empty bag into the bathroom to pack up all the toiletries I would need for the foreseeable future, and crossed my fingers that there would be some way to get more supplies if we needed to. I quickly finished up in the bathroom, and when I stood and turned around, I gasped when I saw someone standing in the doorway.

“Dammit, Min! Don’t scare me like that.” I placed a hand on my chest, trying to calm my heart.

“I’m sorry,” Minhyuk apologized sheepishly, “I wanted to check on you. Shownu said that you and Sorin know about the plan. Are you alright?”

“Honestly?” I questioned.

Minhyuk nodded, “You can speak freely here. Trust me, Kihyun and I searched every nook and cranny.”

I sighed and walked past him, into the bedroom, where I sat on the bed and patted the space beside me, “I’m terrified. You know that Sorin and I have never been away from each other since the day we were born. Not to mention Hyungwon, and you, too. Almost all of the people I’m the closest to are going to be apart from me.”

Minhyuk sat down and took my hands in his, gently rubbing the backs of them with his thumbs, “I know it’s hard, but try not to think of it that way.”

“How should I think of it, then?” I scowled.

Minhyuk hummed in thought, and a mischievous grin began to form on his face, “Well, you could consider it honeymoon practice.”

“Minhyuk!” I hissed, tearing my hands out of his so that I could grab a pillow and smack him in the face with it, “Don’t be gross! Jooheon will be there, too!”

“You know Honey will stay out of your hair! You’ll have Kihyun-ah all to yourself, so you can’t tell me that the idea hasn’t crossed your mind!” Minhyuk argued, laughing while shielding his face from the pillow with his arms. He and Sorin were the only people who officially knew that my relationship with Kihyun wasn’t so innocent anymore. I was sure that the others had their speculations, but we had yet to confirm it to anybody else. This was mainly out of fear for Hyungwon’s reaction to the news.

My brothers and I had been raised to save ourselves for marriage, and since Hyungwon had taken on the task of looking out for me when we moved out, he tried his best not to alter the values our parents had worked so hard to instill in us. For a long time, I was content with going along with that plan, but something about Kihyun made me feel secure enough to give myself to him. The fact that he could be unspeakably sexy when he wanted to be didn’t help matters.

I stopped attacking Minhyuk and buried my face in the pillow instead to hide the embarrassed blush that darkened my cheeks. Minhyuk cooed, “See, didn’t that make you feel better?”

“For a little bit,” I mumbled, lifting my face from the pillow, “But the reality is, I’m still scared. I don’t want anything bad to happen.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be with Shownu. So will Hyungwon. Sorin is going to be with Wonho, and you know he won’t leave her side. Who, in their right mind, is going to mess with her when they see him right there?” Minhyuk flexed one of his arms to make a point, but without the bulky muscles that Hoseok had, the action only had a comedic effect. I snorted and Minhyuk smiled warmly, “Everything is going to be fine, Eunmi. We’re going to work hard to make sure nothing bad happens. I’m a little jealous, honestly, because you are going to have some of the best nights of your life while I slave my ass off.”

I laughed, shaking my head, “You’re insufferable, Min.”

“There she is.” Minhyuk looked pleased with himself for putting a genuine smile on my face.

I shoved him playfully, “I need to finish packing. Are you going to make yourself useful?”

He gasped, his eyes sparkling, “Can I pick your nightwear?!”

“ _ No _ !”

***

Sorin and I hugged each other tight when it was time to go. It was pitch dark outside and everyone was dressed similarly in loose black clothes and facemasks. From a distance, it would be hard to tell who was who, which was the whole goal.

"Be safe." Sorin whispered.

I nodded, squeezing a little tighter, "You too."

When we broke apart, Hyunwoo was there to give his sister a bone crushing hug, and I turned to find Hyungwon watching me warily.

"I'm sorry." I said softly and stepped into his chest to hug him.

"This isn't your fault," He replied, returning the embrace, "I'm the one who should be sorry."

"But if we had stayed by Jooheon-"

"They were already following you with Jooheon. Eunmi, I mean it. This is not your fault." Hyungwon tenderly cupped my cheek with one hand, offering me a supportive smile.

I nodded slightly, pressing my cheek into the warmth of his hand, "Be careful, you dork. I'm going to miss you."

Hyungwon chuckled and I thought I saw hints of tears in his eyes, "I'll miss you too, brat."

Kihyun approached us then, "It's almost time."

Hyungwon released me and looked at Kihyun seriously, "Take care of her."

"You know I will."

They shook hands, and then hugged, and then we were all migrating to the door. I climbed into the back of a car with Jooheon while Kihyun got behind the wheel, and I watched out the window as Sorin got into a car with Hoseok and Changkyun. She noticed me watching and gave me a tiny wave, which I returned. Our brothers and Minhyuk got in another car, pulling away from the giant estate first. Kihyun pulled out after them, and Sorin's car was behind us. Our little convoy wove its way quickly out of the countryside and as soon as we were on a bigger road, everyone split up. I felt my breath catch in my throat as the other two cars disappeared from sight.

"Hey, it'll be alright." Jooheon took my hand in one of his, patting gently with his free hand. I glanced at the rearview mirror, seeing Kihyun's worried eyes assessing me for a moment before returning to the road before us. At Jooheon's encouragement, I scooted over and leaned against him, tucking myself into his side as one arm came down around me. He spoke softly about random things and occasionally asked me questions, trying to keep me from dwelling on the situation. Jooheon was good at that. Seeing as he'd had a problem with anxiety for years, he knew from personal experience how to stop someone from fixating.

I closed my eyes while I listened to him talk, with Kihyun interjecting from time to time and my responses coming fewer and further between. Eventually my thoughts quieted just enough for the low hum of road noise to lull me into a restless sleep against Jooheon’s shoulder. Things weren’t right, but for now, we were safe.


	10. Chapter 10

When I woke up, Kihyun was pulling into a spot in a parking lot. I noticed that the clock on the dash read one in the morning which meant we’d only been on the road for a few hours, but I was sure that the guys were just as tired as I was. Once we came to a full stop and Kihyun shut the ignition off, we pulled our masks up to cover our faces once again and got out of the car.

“Did you see anyone following us?” Kihyun asked.

Jooheon shook his head quickly, “I thought that maybe one car was for a while, but then they pulled off onto another highway. Nothing else looked suspicious.”

“Good. Eunmi, come here. Stay close.” Kihyun beckoned me over and I hurried to his side. I clung to my bag as he led the way up some wooden steps that took us out of the parking lot. We stopped on a landing where there was a solid gate and a tall concrete wall. Kihyun unlocked the gate, and the three of us went in. Beyond the gate was a neat little courtyard leading to the door of the house itself, which was equipped with yet another keypad. There appeared to be a different code for it, but of course I wasn’t told what it was, likely for my own safety.

I went in first when the door was opened and Jooheon came in after me with Kihyun behind him.

“Let’s see, where are those light switches?” Jooheon mumbled, then made a small, gleeful noise and the lights came on with a click. Jooheon beamed, obviously proud of himself, “That’s better. Is anyone else hungry? We should have a stockpile of cup noodles here.”

“I think I’ll go back to sleep, if that’s okay, so I really shouldn’t eat.” It was still the dark hours of the morning after all, and I was still a bit tired.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Hyung, I’ll take the smaller room. I’m sure you two will need more space.” Jooheon wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Yah!” Kihyun barked, but our dimpled friend was already retreating into the kitchen, giggling the whole way. Kihyun sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.

“Are there only two rooms?” I asked, hugging Kihyun from the side.

He hummed affirmatively, “I can sleep on the couch.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ki. We’ve shared a bed before.”

“Not for more than a few hours.” He reasoned.

I pouted, “I’m in a strange house and I’m scared, and you’re going to let me sleep all alone? What if a bad guy manages to break in and steals me away in the middle of the night?”

“I won’t let that happen.” Kihyun spoke firmly.

“So you’ll sleep with me?” I asked hopefully.

“If that’s what you want,” He held up a finger, “But, we’ll  _ only  _ be sleeping. We’re both tired, so we need our rest.”

I eagerly agreed, “Okay! Only sleeping and cuddling. For tonight, anyways.”

“We’ll see,” Kihyun grinned at my sly comment and leaned in to kiss the end of my nose, then called out, “Joohoney, we’re turning in! Make sure you turn everything off when you’re done.”

“I got it, hyung. Good night, lovebirds!”

Kihyun took me to the bedroom that we were going to share while the three of us stayed here. I changed clothes in the attached bathroom, unnecessarily preserving some modesty. When I went back into the room, Kihyun was lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling, dressed only in a pair of loose sweatpants. I was grateful that I’d had enough sense to pack my own pajamas; if Minhyuk had been in charge, I certainly would have been dressed up in something sheer and lacy and with Kihyun looking like some sort of god, I needed to wear as much clothes as I could comfortably manage if there was going to be any hope of  _ just  _ sleeping tonight.

I dove onto the bed next to him and burrowed my way under the blankets. Kihyun chuckled and captured me in his arms to pull me flush against him, “Ah, this is something I’ve been dreaming about. I wish the circumstances were better, but I’m glad that I can be here with you.”

I could feel my face flushing at his sweet confession, “I’m glad you’re here, too.”

***

I followed the sound of hushed voices, still groggy and swaddled in the blanket from the bed. It was barely light outside, but Kihyun and Jooheon were already up by the sounds of things. I trudged into the living room and found them there, sitting together on the couch while they spoke quietly. It looked like a serious discussion that, maybe, I wasn’t supposed to hear so I was just going to turn back and crawl back in bed for a few more hours, but Kihyun spotted me.

“Come in, baby.”

He patted his lap and I obeyed, carefully sitting and making myself comfortable on his legs while his arms steadied me. Sleepily, I mumbled, “Am I interrupting?”

“Oh, no,” Kihyun assured me, kissing my temple, “We actually wanted to talk to you about something. You can wake up a bit first, though. There’s no rush.”

I nodded, tucking my head under Kihyun’s chin, “Do you know how the others are yet?”

“No, I haven’t heard anything.”

Before I could think of the worst, Jooheon was quick to add, “In this case, no news can be taken as good news.”

“I miss Sorin.” I whined. Sorin and I used to send things to each other every single day, ever since we first got cellphones. Waking up without something to catch up on was a change that I wasn’t prepared for, and it made the separation all too real.

“I know you do.” Kihyun brushed all of the stray hairs out of my face, smoothing them out and tucking them back neatly behind my ear.

“Would you miss me if I were in Sorin’s place instead?” Jooheon asked jokingly.

I put on a small smile, despite myself, “I’d think about it. You’re not Min, though.”

“Hey,” Kihyun pouted, “What about me? I’m your boyfriend.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess I’d miss you.”

“You  _ guess _ ?” He echoed and lowered his lips to my ear, speaking so quietly Jooheon couldn’t hear, “We’ll need to work on that.”

I giggled and squirmed out of Kihyun’s lap so that I was sitting in between the boys, “I think I’m awake enough now. What did you guys want to talk about?”

"So, the three of us are going to have a lot of time to hang out and do nothing. We’ll all be confined to these walls for two weeks per the plan, at minimum," Jooheon explained, “Don’t worry, we can get by with the supplies that we have here for that long, and we can order delivery for anything we  _ absolutely  _ need under an alias that Minhyuk assigned to us.”

I groaned, “Two weeks? I might get cabin fever.”

“That’s why Jooheon and I were considering teaching you some important skills, just in case the worst were to happen. You really should know how to escape situations like the one you were just in with Sorin. It’d be good to practice how to fight off an attacker, too. I’d like to teach you how to shoot as well, but since we don’t exactly have a range here you’ll just have to learn the concept,” Kihyun smirked, “You know, which end  _ not  _ to be in front of and all that good stuff.”

I rolled my eyes and shoved him gently, “It sounds like you guys have this planned out already. When were you wanting to start?”

“It’s up to you, but keep in mind that there is a lot to cover. The sooner we can start, the better.”

“Can we do it tomorrow, then? I’m in agreement with the training, but I’d really like to have a day just to relax and get used to,” I took a deep breath and gestured to the room around us, “Everything.”

Jooheon nodded and gave me a sympathetic smile, “Sure. But make sure you’re ready for tomorrow. I want to teach you how to throw a decent punch. You’re going to need a lot of work if you haven’t improved since that day you attacked me for pretending I threw your phone in the river.”

“Look, I was trying to take it easy on you back then because I would have killed you otherwise. Then Minhyuk would’ve been sad and my brother would have scolded me.” I huffed.

“Sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself.” Jooheon was smiling brightly now, clearly taunting me.

Kihyun snorted and got up from the couch, announcing that he was going to make breakfast. Jooheon and I carried on with our half hearted bickering, and the rest of the day kept that light and playful energy. The three of us reminisced on good memories and enjoyed each other's company. I didn’t have many opportunities to dwell on the situation at hand - Kihyun was quick to remind me that it wouldn’t do any good - but every now and then my mind would wander to the others. I hoped that everyone was doing okay, and that we could all be together again soon.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is smut in this one! You've been warned.

Jooheon and Kihyun were standing in the living room, hovering near each other while they wrapped their hands in bandages to protect their knuckles. They'd told me that they wanted me to watch them spar and that they would explain certain techniques to me as they went. They expected me to learn something from this, and were going to start practicing with me as soon as they had finished their demonstration.

"I think you should pretend to be Eunmi," Jooheon said, tucking the end of his bandage into itself to secure it, "I can attack you so that she can see the best ways to counter."

Kihyun nodded, finishing with his own bandages and flexing his fingers a few times, "Alright. But let's move slowly at first so she can really see the technique."

"Fair enough."

Kihyun stepped over to where I was watching from the couch, which had been pushed all the way to the wall. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed my forehead, "Make sure you pay close attention."

"I will. Don't hurt each other, though." I warned.

Jooheon shrugged it off, "We spar all the time. Don't worry."

Kihyun grinned and tapped the end of my nose affectionately before strutting past Jooheon, "Let's say you're casually walking down the street, going shopping or whatever."

I giggled, complaining, "I don't walk like that!"

"Well, imagine you do!" He whined, right before Jooheon jumped on him, grabbing him from behind, "Anyways, your catwalk has attracted a kidnapper and he does this. Watch carefully, and I'll show you how to get away."

Kihyun tucked his chin, explaining that protecting the throat was crucial in a situation like this, and then he pulled Jooheon's elbow into himself, using it as a pressure point to weaken the hold. Within seconds Kihyun was free, but then Jooheon was moving to grab Kihyun from the front. They showed me a few defensive maneuvers that kept Jooheon from being able to recapture Kihyun, and then there were some offensive techniques for trying to put an attacker on the ground and debilitate them.

"It's a good idea to try to intimidate a kidnapper, and alert anyone nearby that there's trouble, so don't be afraid to get loud. I’m sure you can." Kihyun shot me a wink and I blushed.

"Seriously? Gross." Jooheon groaned.

"You're just jealous." Kihyun snickered and Jooheon shoved him lightly.

"As if. I'm amazed you're able to see Eunmi as a woman after we all grew up together." Jooheon's face screwed up in distaste.

"Yah! I don't think I'll mind hitting you now! I matured well." I sulked, folding my arms across my chest with an annoyed huff.

“You sure did,” Kihyun agreed suggestively, rolling his eyes when Jooheon covered his ears with both hands, “Come over here, Eunmi. Let’s have you practice now.”

I started to cross the room towards the boys, but stopped dead in my tracks when I heard a buzz from the small intercom speaker at the front door. That could only mean someone was at the gate, asking for entry. Kihyun quietly signalled for us to leave the room before making his way over to the intercom. Jooheon stepped over to me and took my arm, raising a finger to his lips to tell me to stay quiet, and then guided me into his room. He pushed the door too, but didn’t close it all the way, and we both hovered there to listen as Kihyun went outside.

My heart was in my throat as we waited for agonizing seconds that felt like years. Jooheon was staring at his watch, keeping time, and at some point he must have decided that Kihyun had been gone for too long. He wordlessly went to his bedside stand, opened a drawer, and pulled out a pistol. I couldn’t help but flinch when it clicked as he turned the safety off. He gave me an apologetic look as he returned to my side, and we continued to wait. After what may as well have been ages, the front door opened again and Jooheon readied his weapon.

“Lee Jooheon, put your gun away.” Kihyun’s voice rang through the house and Jooheon visibly relaxed.

“Go on, Eunmi. It’s safe.” Jooheon said and I burst out of his room, running full tilt into Kihyun and squeezing him in a bear hug, which he seemed happy to return.

“What happened out there?” Jooheon asked, his pistol safely put away now.

“The neighbor’s son came by to welcome us and wanted to talk for a little while. They heard us coming in yesterday morning, and apparently his mom cooked for us last night so that he could bring it over today. I threw the food out, though. We can’t be too careful.” Kihyun explained, rubbing my shoulders as I was still clinging to him.

“Let’s keep an eye on them for a little while. Did he give you a name?”

“Park Junseo. Let’s do a little background check on the property owner next door as well.”

Jooheon nodded and disappeared back into his room, leaving Kihyun and I in the living room. Kihyun slid his hands down my arms and gently pushed back, getting me to loosen my hold on him, “Are you alright?”

I frowned up at him, “I’ve never been so stressed out over a strange visitor. I hate that everyday things suddenly seem so dangerous.”

“I’m sorry,” He said, and I could tell that he meant it, “We probably won’t be doing any more training for the day. Would you like to take a hot bath to relax? We have those fizzy things here, too.”

“Bath bombs?” I questioned, but allowed Kihyun to lead me into the spacious bathroom that was attached to our room, “Why do you have bath bombs in a safe house?”

Kihyun sighed as he retrieved a basket from one of the cabinets under the sink and held it out to me after turning the water on to fill the tub, “Minhyuk tried these things once, and after that he insisted on keeping some everywhere. He kept going on and on about how soft his skin was.”

“Ah, a fellow intellectual. I knew I liked Min for a reason.” I giggled while pawing through the basket of bath bombs, finally settling on a pink sphere that claimed to be rose scented, and smiled fondly as I peeled off the plastic wrapper.

Kihyun chuckled at the comment and watched as I dropped the bath bomb in the water. He placed a sweet kiss on my shoulder as it began to fizz up and mix swirls of pink into the water, "I'll come back to check on you in a little bit. Try to clear your mind, alright?"

I nodded in acknowledgement and Kihyun left me to get in the bath on my own. I shuffled my clothes off, tested the water with one toe, then stepped in and slowly sank into the water until my head was the only thing exposed. I sighed blissfully, appreciating the soothing fragrance, and closed my eyes.

*****SEXY TIME BUT NOT QUITE SMUT YET*****

It was about twenty minutes later when I heard the bathroom door open and Kihyun’s footsteps approaching the tub. I opened my eyes to smile up at him, but my eyebrows shot up when I saw that he was fully naked.

"Mind if I join you?" He grinned.

I leaned forward to allow him to slide in behind me, then laid back against his chest while he put his arms around me and kissed my neck.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, his voice low and right by my ear.

I suppressed a shiver, but answered honestly, "Better than earlier, but I still get a little stressed if I think about the situation."

Kihyun hummed and the sound shot straight to my core, "Looks like my baby girl needs a better distraction, hm?"

He punctuated the question with a nip at my ear, making me inhale sharply as my eyelids fluttered shut. Kihyun chuckled and allowed his hands to move up my stomach to my chest. He cupped my breasts in his hands and flicked over my nipples teasingly with his index fingers.

"Kihyunnie..." I whined, squirming against him.

He shushed me, peppering kisses along my jaw, "Don't get too loud baby. Jooheon is here, remember? Not that I'd mind him, or anyone else, hearing just how good I can make you feel."

I shuddered and Kihyun laughed darkly, continuing to massage my breasts while his lips found my neck again. I should have expected it, since we didn't have Hyungwon watching our every move, but I had to bite back a surprised moan when Kihyun started sucking on my skin with obvious intent to leave a mark. One of my hands gripped his thigh beneath the surface of the fragrant bathwater, the other rising up to the back of his neck.

He played with my nipples a little while longer, stopping when I started whimpering quietly, only to let his hands glide freely over my body. I took the opportunity to catch my breath, relaxing against him and breathing deep.

"Would you allow me to take your mind off of everything for a little while?" His voice was so enticing, I had to bite my lower lip to keep from moaning, "I bet I can do better than a bath."

"Yes, please." I agreed immediately.

Kihyun hummed softly, "Come on baby girl, let's get to the bed."

He didn't have to ask twice, as I was already getting to my feet. Kihyun got out of the tub and pulled the plug, then helped me out and grabbed a fluffy towel to dry me off. I had managed to keep my hair mostly dry, so when the water on our bodies had been patted off, Kihyun tossed the towel aside and scooped me up in his arms. I couldn’t help but laugh as he practically ran to the bed and tossed me onto it, not wasting any time before crawling over me and pressing our mouths together.

*****REAL SMUT FINNA START*****

"It's been way too long." Kihyun whispered as I trailed my fingers down his back, spreading my legs so that he could settle comfortably between them. His lips travelled away from my mouth and down to my bruising neck while he shifted all of his weight to one arm and let his other hand drift down my body until his fingers could stroke my folds. I hummed quietly when he let the pads of his fingers dip into the wetness that was leaking from me, dragging that slick up until he was lightly circling my clit. I couldn’t help myself from grabbing his arm tight, my brain unable to decide whether to push the stimulation away, or draw it in closer.

I bit my lip harshly when Kihyun decided to leave my clit alone, instead plunging two fingers deep into me and curling them against my walls until my back arched in pleasure. My hands dropped from his arm, one moving to grip the sheets while the other found his cock. He was almost fully hard already, the skin warm and velvety to the touch, and the slit already beading with precum. With what control I had left, I spread the slippery liquid over the head with my thumb and gave him a few pumps to coax more out, so that I could work it down his shaft.

“Please tell me you’re still on your pills. I didn’t think to bring condoms.” Kihyun admitted.

“I’m still taking them.” I confirmed, my cheeks growing warmer when I felt him kissing my ear.

“Such a good girl,” He purred, the sound making me tremble excitedly, “I want to feel you cum on my cock. I want you to cum with me. Do you think you can do that for me, baby?”

I gasped when a third finger pushed into me, the movements of my own hand stuttering, “I think so.”

“Good,” Kihyun praised, smiling, and removed his fingers, “Let’s get started, then.”

He repositioned himself over me and kissed me deeply while he slowly guided himself in. It had been several months since we'd last had a chance to get intimate, and Kihyun was nothing if not considerate of my comfort. Once he bottomed out, his forehead dropped to my shoulder and his fingers tangled into the sheets by my head. By the way he pressed his tightly closed lips to my skin, I could tell that he was struggling to be quiet.

Kihyun drew his hips back and thrusted experimentally, making both of us moan in spite of caution. My fingers dug into his back a little and I raised my hips in an attempt to encourage more movement. He groaned deep in his throat and complied, and I closed my eyes in bliss.

"I almost forgot how amazing you feel." Kihyun murmured in my ear.

I smiled slightly, running my fingers up into his hair, "I didn't realize how much I've missed this."

He hummed, "Yeah? Maybe we can make it more of a habit."

“We might need to,” I agreed, feeling that pleasurable warmth already building up, “I’m not sure how long I’ll last tonight.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one.” He sighed, relieved.

Kihyun worked up to a quick, steady pace, but he tried to keep his thrusts smooth in order to avoid making too much noise. Without breaking apart, he sat back and pulled me up with him until I was straddling his lap with our chests flush against each other. My thighs quivered, due in equal parts to the strain on my muscles and the pleasure that made my nerves tingle.

"You're so pretty. I should tell you more often." Kihyun said reverently as his hands smoothed down my back and grabbed my hips, leading them into a rolling motion that had me throwing my head back and trembling harder.

"I'm close." I breathlessly managed to get the words out when the warmth started to feel more like a burn, and the tingles more like electric shocks.

"I've got you baby, don't hold back." Kihyun encouraged. He held my hips up, adjusted himself, and drove up into me harder. His lips caught mine, and even with his mouth swallowing up every noise I made I was sure that Jooheon could hear my high pitched whines. A few more thrusts had Kihyun spilling inside me with a deep moan. The feeling of his cock pulsing against my walls was all I needed to fall from the edge I'd been teetering on, and praises fell from Kihyun's lips as I clenched and writhed on his lap. We rode out our highs together, kissing and panting out each other's names.

When I was finally able to shakily lift myself from his lap, Kihyun dragged himself off of the bed and went to get a towel from the bathroom. He motioned for me to lay back before carefully cleaning up the rapidly drying wetness on my inner thighs, and his warm cum from where it had leaked out of me. He tossed the soiled towel in the laundry basket, then joined me back on the bed and pulled me into him.

*****END SMUT*****

I initiated a sweet kiss while he slowly rubbed my arm, basking in the post-sex glow. 

He drew back after a moment and looked me in the eye, "I love you."

I blushed and cuddled closer, "I love you, too. That seemed very serious, though, is everything alright?"

"It is serious. I want to have a family with you one day."

"You do?" I asked, smiling brightly.

"Are you surprised?" He smirked.

"No, not really. But you get to tell my brother once my life gets back to normal." I teased.

Kihyun laughed, "Hyungwon already knows how serious I am about my relationship with you. That's why he let me be with you during all this. He knows that if he can't be here to protect you, that I will. The future I want depends on your safety."

He nuzzled my cheek and I teared up as a range of emotions overcame me. Kihyun kept cuddling me and giving me small kisses, until the only thing I was feeling was love.

"Hey guys?" Jooheon's voice came suddenly, muffled through the door, "I don't want to interrupt but I thought you might like to know that the neighbors are legit. Also, I'm making more ramen if anybody is interested. And we have Mario Kart. It's just that you guys sound like you're having fun and it's lonely out here by myself."

"I'm actually going to kill him." Kihyun muttered.

I slapped his chest lightly, giggling, "You will not."

He huffed in defeat, then called, "We'll be out in a second."

"Are you sure? I can wait until you're done with round two. Or do you have a longer recovery period, hyung?"

"Joohoney." There was an unmistakable threat in Kihyun's tone, and Jooheon ran away from the door, snickering. I bit my lip and got up to get dressed. I could only hope the teasing wouldn't be so bad if we faced it head on.


	12. Chapter 12

"Status reports from Imhorin and Kihonmi are boring today." Minhyuk sighed after checking the pager he was carrying. It was a bit of a pain in the ass - clunky, and not as smooth to operate as a cellphone - but rigging the satellite operated pagers to where they couldn't be traced had been better than any of their other readily available options. The boys had settled on a simple numeric code system to communicate over the pagers, and so far everything was going according to plan.

Hyungwon pulled a face, and turned in his seat to look back at the white haired boy, “Where did those names come from?”

“Do you like them?” Minhyuk asked excitedly, “I blended everyone’s names to come up with teams. We’re Shinwon.”

"That's great.” Hyungwon drawled, expression blank. Minhyuk scowled at the sarcasm and sat back in his seat, crossing his arms with a pout.

“Did the rookies pick up the cars like they were supposed to?” Shownu asked from the driver’s seat and Minhyuk couldn’t tell if it was to change the subject and diffuse tension, or if he was just suddenly curious. It didn’t really matter either way. It was still a valid question.

“Cravity disposed of both vehicles yesterday, supposedly with no incidents.” Minhyuk answered with a nod even though the leader wasn’t looking at him. Monsta X was but a small cog in the anti-crime machine that was Starship, and Cravity was the newest undercover gang to be born of the organization. The nine rookies showed a lot of promise, and they practically idolised the members of Monsta X. They were good kids. Shownu once mentioned how they reminded him of himself at their age.

“It’s best that Sorin and Eunmi didn’t know about that part of the plan. They would have raised hell if they knew the cars were going to be taken.” Hyungwon said as he stared out his window, his hands folded neatly in his lap. Minhyuk knew that even with Hyungwon’s cool, albeit crabby exterior, the younger was just as worried as the rest of them.

“They’ll be alright. We couldn’t risk the cars being recognized by the wrong people.” Shownu said absently.

“At least they’re not sitting ducks. If anything were to go south, there are still backup cars,” Minhyuk added, then frowned, “I really need to pee, and I’m out of soda.”

Shownu sighed gently and checked the gas gauge, “We’ll stop at the next station. I could stand to top off on gas.”

The trio rode quietly until the car rolled up to a small gas station. There was an elderly man seated at the pumps who stood up as they pulled in, ready to fill their tank. Hyungwon slyly prepared his handgun, stashing it between his leg and the door where it was out of the worker’s line of sight. Minhyuk checked to make sure his own gun was well hidden in his waistband before getting out of the backseat and going inside to relieve himself. This wasn’t any of their first rodeo, so they all knew what to do and how to act. It was only a matter of minutes until they were back on the road with a full tank of gas and fresh snacks and drinks.

Their next stop would be at a hotel, where they would camp out for a few days before moving again. They were really working hard to bait whoever was messing with them into revealing themselves, but so far things had been quiet. It was frustrating but they had to be patient with these things. Besides, the girls were safe and the enemy was confused. That was the best they could hope for.

***

“Sorin, you have to eat more than a few bites.”

The girl blinked up at Changkyun, who was watching her with a hopeful expression from across the table. She glanced back down at the food in front of her, but before she could think to take a bite her eyes were watering again. It would be a lie if she said that she wasn’t annoyed with herself; this was their third day into the split and she still wasn’t handling it any better. She’d barely been able to touch her food - which was entirely unlike her - and had spent the majority of her days sleeping or crying. She missed her brother, she missed her friends, and she was juggling more emotions than she felt equipped to deal with.

“Baby,” Hoseok’s hand was enveloping hers and she looked at him, her heart pulling when he rewarded her with a small smile, “What would get you to eat right now?”

Sorin sniffled, “I don’t know. Probably Eunmi jumping my case about me needing to take better care of myself.”

Hoseok hummed and grabbed her chopsticks, picking up a piece of kimchi and holding it up to her. He cleared his throat and when he spoke again, his voice was higher, more feminine, and utterly ridiculous, “Sorin-ah! Seriously, you can’t even manage to feed yourself? I thought I raised you better than that!”

Changkyun bit back a laugh and Sorin pressed her mouth closed, fighting the smile that was trying to grow.

Hoseok continued, pressing the meat to Sorin’s lips, “You better eat this or else I’ll have Hoseok hold you while I force feed you!”

“You wouldn’t.” Sorin tried to play along, but as her mouth was open, her goofy, softhearted boyfriend quickly slipped the chopsticks between her teeth and left the kimchi on her tongue.

“Bet.” He grinned.

Sorin chewed indignantly and took the chopsticks back, “Give me those, you fiend.”

Both of the boys at the table smiled as Sorin started to eat like normal, but Changkyun’s focus broke when he heard the pager beeping. He hurried to check it and sighed with relief.

“Everyone is doing well. Shownu, Minhyuk and Hyungwon have stopped for the night. Eunmi is safe with Kihyun and Joohoney.” He said as he put the pager away.

Sorin didn’t comment and put down a bit more food while Changkyun and Hoseok talked about nothing in particular. She paused, though, when a particularly sad thought wormed its way into her mind, “Do you think she misses me, too?”

“Eunmi?” Changkyun questioned, tipping his head, “Of course she does. Why do you ask?”

Sorin shrugged and pushed the remainder of her dinner around her plate, her appetite gone once again, “I don’t know. We’ve spent nearly every day of our lives together. Maybe she got tired of me at some point.”

“That’s enough,” Changkyun looked distraught as he leaned into the table, “How could you even think those things? I know it’s hard for you, not being able to talk to everyone, but Eunmi would never get tired of you.”

“I know that, I just miss her so much and it’s hard to deal,” Sorin’s frown deepened, “I miss everyone.”

“And they miss you, too. We’re a family after all.” Hoseok insisted.

Sorin nodded slightly and sat back from her plate, signalling that she was finished. Changkyun was disappointed that she hadn’t eaten everything, but he wasn’t about to push her and he was glad that she seemed to be getting some of her appetite back.

“I want to go lay down.” Sorin finally spoke. Her eyes were raw from crying and she had a slight stress headache, so she figured another nap would make her feel better. A shower would probably help as well, but she felt that she wouldn’t be able to muster enough energy for one. Emotions were  _ exhausting _ .

“Okay, baby. We’ll clean up in here.” Hoseok’s voice was so gentle as he helped Sorin get up and sent her off to the room she’d been sleeping in. Sorin made sure that the curtains were pulled before she climbed into bed and nestled herself in the blankets. Her eyes drifted shut after a few minutes of listening to the muffled sounds of dishes being washed.

Sometime later she was coaxed into consciousness by the feeling of her hand being held. As her sleep-fogged brain began to clear, she realized that the shape of a small heart was delicately being traced onto the back of her hand and she looked down to see Hoseok seated on the floor with his head resting on the edge of the bed, one hand holding hers while the other drew the heart onto her skin in slow repetition.

“Hoseokie?” She mumbled groggily and he picked his head up to look at her.

“Did I wake you up?” He whispered apologetically.

“It’s fine. What are you doing?”

He smiled a little and resumed his tracing, “I was just thinking about how sad you were at dinner. Before we split up, Shownu-hyung told me that you guys would do this whenever either of you needed comfort. I thought the familiarity might be nice for you.”

“Come up here, please? You don’t have to stay on the floor,” Sorin scooched back so that Hoseok could climb under the covers with her, and once he was settled and they were cuddling comfortably, she spoke again, “Thank you. I can tell that you’re trying to cheer me up, and I’m sorry that it isn’t working. It really does mean a lot to me, though. You even tried to act like Eunmi at dinner.”

Hoseok chuckled and pressed a few quick kisses to Sorin’s cheek, “It’s my job to be whatever, or whoever, you need me to be. We’re going to get through this, okay?”

“Okay,” Sorin agreed with a small grin, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Hoseok started to hum a soothing melody as he rubbed Sorin’s back, keeping her tucked against his chest as he lulled her back to sleep. Only when Sorin’s breaths had deepened and the tension left her muscles did Hoseok allow himself to fall asleep beside her.


End file.
